Bottled Up
by dream7me7to7sleep
Summary: Nine-year-old Sookie Stackhouse discovers the mysterious voice inside her Gran's house is a magical Djinn, and that the universe has great plans for her. With a reluctant Viking by her side, can Sookie grow into the Savior of Elfyria?
1. Chapter 1

**Bottled Up**

**A/N:**

ALL ENCOMPASING DISCLAIMER:

I don't own anything. It all belongs to Charlaine Harris and HBO. I don't make anything doing this except making an example of how much of a life I do not have.

This story will be updated every Wednesday.

Thanks, everyone who waited for this moment, and be safe starting this new year!

**Chapter One: Friend Like Me **

Adele Stackhouse had suspected her house was haunted for several years. The root of that suspicion stemmed from her nine-year-old granddaughter, Sookie. At first, the old woman had thought it nothing more than a young child's imagination. Then, after a couple years, Sookie began showing symptoms of the "otherness" that had brought the invalid branch of the Stackhouse family tree into being.

Sookie was spritely and a true sun-worshipper. Like their father, Corbett, and their Aunt Linda, Sookie and Jason could not be contained inside.

Of course, it was not the children's bright eyes and hair, nor their addiction to solar rays that brought evidence of their occult lineage. It was not even the hint of extraordinary attractiveness that they would eventually grow into that clued Adele in on Sookie's blooming heritage.

The young girl could read minds, and quite possibly, she could see ghosts. All too often, Sookie would wander into the dining room, gazing at the china cabinet and seeming to hold one-sided conversations. The habit only seemed to become intensified after the abrupt death of her parents, and Adele thought it to be some sort of regression. It was not until Sookie began trying to take an artifact from the display that the grandmother started to worry.

A bottle formed out of opal and stoppered by an impressive globe of stone Adele had never identified had sat on the highest shelf of the cabinet since the death of Adele's husband, Earl. Once the woman knew the bottle could be out in the open without question of where it had come, Adele finally let it remain on display. She always passed it off as a trinket discovered at a flea market, but the truth was, the treasure had been stowed beneath the house, buried on the earthen floor of the crawl space until it was safe to bring out.

The bottle came to her through the same individual that gave her the children she longed for: Fintan Brigant. A Fae man who descended from an invalid line of the Fae Royal blood lineage, but still managed to maintain an extraordinary amount of enemies.

Sniffles brought Adele to the dining room to find Sookie huddled in front of the cabinet like she was every morning since the car accident. Twice now, Sookie had tried to remove the bottle from its perch, and Adele had gently shooed her curious fingers away. Fintan had been very stern about his command that no one ever open the bottle, but to keep it as visible as possible for protection.

Still, Adele leaned heavily against the frame of the doorway between the kitchen and dining room as she looked sadly at her depressed granddaughter, and had to think how little protection the bobble had brought. Corbett and his wife were dead shortly after Adele had brought the bottle from beneath the house to the display case.

As Adele watched, she witnessed Sookie's murmuring voice cease, and eyes stare blankly ahead. The young girl often tried to hide her gifts from the family, having known the confusion and worry it had brought everyone once it was understood what Sookie could do.

With a sigh, the grandmother left, keeping a keen ear open to stop Sookie from taking the bottle Fintan had warned against ever opening.

"_Sookie."_

The young girl looked at the strangely hued bottle on the highest shelf of the cabinet. "Hmmm," she hummed gently as if to disguise the acknowledgment.

"_You need to get me out of here," _the voice encouraged. _"I'm supposed to bring you help! You're in danger!"_

"But Gran-"

"_Sneak me out in the middle of the night," _the bottle suggested. _"It won't be long now that the dangers will come. I _need _out of here!"_

"Okay," Sookie whispered before she rose from the floor and headed to the shed. Gran always caught her because the hinges squeaked, and Sookie found Jason's chain oil for his bike so that she could quiet the traitorous squeals.

Applying a coat of oil to the hinges as carefully as she could, the young girl thought about her relationship with the strange bottle. As far back as Sookie could remember, she had conversations with the old farmhouse. It told her jokes and gave her fun ideas. The house told her fairy tales and all about a magical land called Elfyria. She learned about fairy queens and kings, and even a story about a bleak monster called 'The Nameless' which threatened to eat up all the creatures of Elfyria. The house assured Sookie that a great warrior would come and send The Nameless back into the night and bring Elfyria once more into the light. When that day came, the house explained that Elfyria would have a new, eternal ruler with all the powers of the cosmos at their disposal.

After Sookie took her preemptive measures, all that she could do was wait until everyone went to sleep. It was easy to stay awake. The bottle kept her company with its instructions and helpful tips on how to successfully retrieve it.

When her grandmother's snores became audible from her own room, Sookie snuck from her bed and crept downstairs. The oil she had rubbed on the hinges earlier did a mediocre job of urging the metal not to alert anyone to the theft taking place. However, since the lubricant had not been adequately worked into the joints, the cabinet doors were still stiff and a little noisy. Despite this, Sookie managed to open the door without anyone waking up and nimbly climbed on a chair to reach the top shelf.

Once the peculiar bottle was in Sookie's hands, she carefully placed it on the table and put everything back the way she had it before scampering soundlessly to her room with the treasure. After she had curled back beneath her covers, Sookie unceremoniously yanked the stopper from the mouth of the bottle.

Setting the large globe to the side, Sookie peered into the bottle expectantly, but was disgusted and terrified by what followed.

Thick streams of black liquid sprung from the opening like tentacles before splashing onto the bed. More fluid than should have been contained in the bottle spilled forth, scaring the child while an unbidden worry about explaining the stains to her Gran played in the back of her head.

Eventually, the dark waters began to bead together like mercury. The water rose into a familiar form, and soon a woman sat on her bed. Her hair was black like the liquid that had erupted, matching her lifeless eyes and contrasting her skin that was a pale blue. Sookie thought the woman sitting across from her looked like a frozen corpse on some high, distant mountains in the winter.

"Hello, Sookie," the woman smiled, and her purplish-blue lips spread into a terrifying smile. At the child's traumatized expression, the woman looked at her hands and seemed to understand what was scaring the girl. "Sorry about that." All at once, more color came to the woman's skin until it was a healthy pink, and her lips changed to a plump desert rose. "Better?"

"What… Who are you?" Sookie choked, her eyes wide and only a touch less concerned.

"Hmmm," the woman began thoughtfully, "I am a magical creature sent to help you."

"L-like an angel?" Sookie stammered.

The woman shook her head, "No, I'm not nearly as liked as an angel. I'm a Djinn."

"I don't know what that is," Sookie admitted.

The woman thought another moment, "Do you know what a Genie is?"

"Like in 'I Dream of Genie'?" Sookie asked.

"Yes," the woman smiled, "but I'm a real one, not a Hollywood one."

"How long have you been in that bottle?" Sookie wondered.

"Oh, a long, long, long time," the Djinn smiled, "but I'm used to it."

"I'm sorry it took me so long to let you out," Sookie apologized, slowly forgetting her fear of the creature as her mind began to recognize her as the 'Voice of the House.'

"That's okay. You were just being a good girl and listening to your grandmother. I'm glad you managed to help me, though. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Sookie beamed, the last of her terror evaporating at the warm expression. "What's your name?"

"Well, I serve you now, so you can call me whatever you like," the Djinn told her.

"It doesn't seem right to name someone all grown up. Do you have a name you like?" Sookie asked.

Sookie was still unsettled by the creature's smile, and she could only attribute her unease to the unnatural appearance her new friend had introduced her to.

"Why don't you call me Jeanie," the creature teased and made Sookie smile.

"Okay, Ms. Jeanie," she giggled into her hands. "What do we do now?"

"Well," Jeanie crossed her arms, thoughtfully, "the first thing we need to do is get you a bodyguard."

"I thought you said _you _were gonna help me?" Sookie frowned in confusion.

"It's a very long story, Sookie, but the individual I was told to bring to you will do a far better job of protecting you than I could," Jeanie explained.

"I don't get it," Sookie confessed.

"Well, if we meet him, then I can start explaining, but I'd hate to waste precious time saying it twice," Jeanie assured. "Now, I need you to command me to take you to Eric Northman."

"Will it take away one of my three wishes?" Sookie wondered.

"You have infinite wishes from me, Sookie," Jeanie assured.

"Oh, are you already free?" Sookie wondered.

Jeanie hesitated before she offered a, "yes," that seemed saturated in complications.

"Okay," Sookie replied slowly, "Jeanie, will you please take me to meet Eric Northman? Thank you."

Jeanie smiled at her politeness and gave a rather emphatic nod before Sookie squealed and clung to the creature's hips as she suddenly found herself sitting in an office with lots of leather furniture and dark wood tables.

"Might I ask," Sookie's head whirled around at the new voice behind her, "how the _fuck _you got into my office?"

Although the man was seated behind a desk, piles of papers framing him as well as the long blond hair, Sookie could tell that he was very tall. His legs extended to the mouth of the desk's opening, one of them cocked out lazily across his ankle.

"I'm Sookie," Sookie squeaked, "and this is my friend, Jeanie. She said I had to meet you, and you would be my bodyguard. You're Eric Northman, right?"

The man raised his eyebrows, "I am, but I do not recall agreeing to serve a little girl." His eyes lit upon the strange bottle clutched in Sookie's hand and then looked at the older woman the child clung to with growing intrigue. "Jeanie, was it?"

"That's right," Jeanie smiled as she tucked Sookie's gaze into her hip, "and I am sent by Endymion to assist this universe into becoming one of the 'Pillars of Restoration.'"

"And what is a Pillar of Restoration?" Eric steepled his fingertips as his ears worked overtime to listen for an ambush. Only the name Endymion gave him pause into thinking this was an attack. He could think of nothing he had done, which would bring the Voice of God's wrath.

"Three dimensions magically governed by powerful leaders, the _same _leader," Jeanie began, "in a perfect alignment where their dimensional cross points could restore magical order to multiple other dimensions like a spiderweb through time and space."

"And she will be that queen?" Eric guessed.

"She will," Jeanie nodded. "In one dimension, I am told, she is already a fine queen, and in another, she is shaping up to fulfill that role… Or already has… Interdimensional time travel does not fall so cleanly into past, present, or future tenses."

"Why have you come to me?" Eric demanded in a professionally bored tone despite his actual curiosity.

"You have successfully protected her in those other two dimensions and several others of major importance. We have faith you can do so again here," Jeanie shrugged.

"A vampire is a poor bodyguard," Eric pointed out. "We fair well for special events, but not continual protection."

Jeanie held out her hand, and a stone materialized within it, "Do you know what this is?"

"I do not," Eric replied as he stared at the orange and gray mineral that made his supernatural senses pique with interest. The taste the stone emitted into the air was as tempting as it was foreboding.

"It has quite a few names," Jeanie admitted, "Most commonly, it's known simply as a sunstone. What makes this one particularly important is that _I _did not conjure it. It was given to me, so it will not disappear outside my sphere of influence. It is your first payment to become this girl's bodyguard."

"And what do I want with your rock?" Eric sighed.

"It is a stone of protection from the sun," Jeanie smiled. "If I were to embed this within you, the sun would never force you to rest and would never burn you." Even the ancient vampire could not help the covetousness that alit his face. "It will grant you the ability to protect Sookie and teach her to protect herself when the time comes for your duties to end."

"I am to be her teacher now too?" Eric grouched.

"To an extent," Jeanie calmed him, "Endymion was quite insistent that you have nothing to do with her actual upbringing. He said you have a tendency to strip away her compassion when you know her too young. No, she should stay with her grandmother and brother, so she has humility and compassion properly embedded."

"And who will I be fighting?" Eric asked.

"With the gates between the human realm and fairy realm sealed, Sookie's aura will become enticing to certain creatures as she ages, particularly warlocks and other fairies trapped in this realm when the passage was sealed," Jeanie explained.

"The gate is normally closed, why is it different now?" Eric demanded.

"This is not the usual closing of the realm. It is not like a door any longer. Sookie will need to perform a grueling task to reopen the door," Jeanie shrugged.

"And this girl is the only one who can perform the task and unseal the realm?" Eric was flabbergasted that a girl who appeared no more than a human would eventually become the only key to the ancient birthplace of magic.

"Eventually, yes," Jeanie nodded. "Currently, she is untrained and unable to accept the responsibilities of her actions. Her abilities of this moment are only a single drop of water in the ocean they will become."

"Current abilities?" Eric looked at the girl with more interest. She smelled good enough, but children often did from a lack of toxins to which they would later subject their bodies. That did not imply a power, however.

"She is telepathic," Jeanie told him. "She has only a short distance, and cannot currently hear vampires at all. I believe she won't grow into that ability for quite a long time, and by the time she does, her telepathy will be entirely voluntary. She won't have to listen to everything at all times."

Eric cooled to the idea of training a girl who could later betray his thoughts, but the offer of being gifted a sunstone was a far greater temptation. _Perhaps she will do me the courtesy of not listening to my musings if she likes me well enough, _Eric considered. _At least she is quiet. I have not heard a word from her since introducing herself._

"Are we in agreement?" Jeanie demanded in a professional manner.

Eric leaned back in his seat, "We are."

"Excellent," Jeanie smiled as she clapped her hands in such a way that Eric felt mystically signed into a contract. "You have one week to put your affairs in order as well as inform your Maker and Child that you will be faking your True Death. I will retrieve you on the first of August so we can make preparations for your enrollment and install your first payment." The sunstone disappeared in Jeanie's palm.

"I beg your pardon?" Eric's eyebrows rose.

"You are going to be her bodyguard, and fairies can pop in and out wherever they please. Your presence by her side is imperative. You will go to school with her," Jeanie explained humorlessly.

Eric Northman frowned, "Even with the abilities of the sunstone, I do not believe I could pass for an eight-year-old."

"I can fix that," Jeanie told him without pause. "I am the Djinn, after all. As long as you do not object, this act is well within my sphere of ability."

It had been a long time since Eric Northman had felt his jaw go slack with surprise, but the mythical term of Djinn had managed to make it happen. Even amongst Supernaturals, the creature Djinn was one of lore.

"I must ask if you are a _real _Djinn, why do you need my help at all?" Eric wondered.

"As a Djinn, I have incomprehensible powers, but only about 100 kilometers of influence. I cannot kill, and I have little autonomy of my own. I can only perform a task once upon assignment, not infinitely, that would imply I have my own willpower. My will and my power are at the disposal of my Master, and that Master is Sookie. The only other who can wield my power is Endymion."

"Then, I cannot control you?" Eric realized.

"No," Jeanie confirmed. "If you have a request, then it must be ordered by Sookie and fulfilled at her agreement."

"Sookie is your red tape, then," Eric smiled. "One-hundred kilometers… So much potential, but so little," he murmured. "Judging by the girl's accent, I would say I will be moving to Louisiana in a week? That suits me fine. I have needed a change of scenery. Will I be able to move freely between a child and an adult size?"

"No," Jeanie shook her head. "I will be setting you to the same aging speed as Sookie. Luckily you are vampire, and the process will not steal your memories or abilities as it would if you were any other human-based supernatural. You will have all of your advantages but in a smaller package. You will grow as Sookie does. Keep in mind that means your strikes will be concentrated in a smaller point of impact. The effects will be devastating, so I advise against hitting mortals."

"Understandable," Eric agreed.

"One week," Jeanie reminded as she took Sookie's hand. "If you are ready to go home, please make your wish now."

Sookie paused, having only absorbed a fraction of what was happening in the office. One of the things that stood out to her, however, was that Eric Northman seemed to begrudgingly agree to his new job.

"Thank you, Mr. Northman," Sookie reached her hand out to shake his.

Eric frowned but rose from his seat to accept her hand. "Your first lesson on supernaturals is that vampires do not shake hands. We nod in acknowledgment. The lower the nod, the higher the respect."

Sookie took her hand back slowly before lowering her head until she was nearly bowing. An unwelcome smile tugged at Eric's lips. _Okay, maybe this will not be so terrible, _he considered. "We will work on it."

Smiling broadly, Sookie gave a bemused tilt of her head before skipping back to Jeanie's side, "Please, take us home, Ms. Jeanie!"

Eric watched, stupefied as the pair disappeared in a puff of black smoke like a tacky ninja movie. Once they were gone, however, Eric left his office to take to the sky and speak to his Maker. This definitely was not a conversation for a phone call.

{†}

As Sookie appeared once more in her room, tucked snuggly into her bed, she marveled at the small adventure she had experienced. "You really are a genie!"

Jeanie smiled, "Yes, and I need you to make another wish, Sookie. I need you to wish for a replica bottle in the cabinet, so I can remain with you."

"Okay," Sookie nodded in agreement. "Jeanie, I wish you would make a replica bottle in your place in the china cabinet, please."

Jeanie nodded, "That is taken care of."

"Oh! Won't Mr. Northman need a place to live?" Sookie wondered.

"Yes," Jeanie agreed. "He will mostly be around you, but he will need a home so you can come over and start learning everything you need to know for the future."

Sookie sat quietly in her bed as she absorbed this before finally asking in the form of a statement, "Mr. Northman called me a queen."

Jeanie frowned, "Yes, he did."

"Does that mean I'm a princess right now?" Sookie asked.

"Yes, a fairy princess," Jeanie smirked.

Sookie looked at her hands, contemplatively. "And people already don't like me?"

Jeanie's expression mimicked her master's. "They do not know you. A lot of people want to be royalty, Sookie, and it doesn't matter whether or not they like the person who is currently chosen to become their leader. There is time to discuss these things later. Right now, it is late, and little princesses should be asleep. I have kept you awake too late already."

Sookie nodded as she pulled the light, summer blanket over her body, and turned off the lamp beside her bed. "Jeanie?"

"Hmm?"

"Can you look like whoever you want?"

"I can."

"Can you look like my mamma?" Sookie whispered.

There was a pause, "I could, but I wouldn't be your mother, Sookie. I'd be no more than a moving photograph."

An involuntary sniffle huffed through the girl's nose. She knew that before Jeanie even said it, but she still wished her mother could hold her one more time. "What are the rules, Jeanie?"

"I can't bring back the dead, Sookie," Jeanie began, knowing precisely what a child would want first. "I can't overrule anyone's Free Will, either. I can persuade, but ultimately, they must make the decisions."

"Is that why you had to pay Mr. Northman with that rock so he would help us?" Sookie tried to understand.

"That's right. Things I conjure out of thin air only exist when they are within 100 kilometers of my bottle. If I _make_ something or receive something out of raw materials, only then does it truly exist without me," Jeanie told her. "I cannot create anything consciously living, but I can summon it briefly. I cannot _keep _it against its will."

Sookie nodded as though she understood, but in reality, it was beyond her. She was too tired from her day to try and comprehend anymore. Tomorrow would be another opportunity to learn more.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: I'm a Real Boy!**

Eric waited patiently in his office for the return of the Djinn and his new client. He felt a nervousness for which he had been unprepared. The Djinn had told him she would transform the vampire into a child the same age as the Stackhouse girl. Having to cautiously believe the creature's power, Eric had wondered how his abilities would be affected as a child.

As he sat contemplatively, Eric considered where he should begin in the girl's training. The Djinn had been specific about him teaching the child to fight and protect herself as well as teaching her about Supernatural creatures. Explaining different Supes was easy enough if the girl had any wits with which to start.

The vampire's musings were interrupted by a black puff of smoke and the arrival of the Djinn and Sookie Stackhouse.

"Good evening, Northman," the Djinn greeted.

"Good evening," Eric nodded his head at Jeanie before looking at Sookie. "Ms. Stackhouse."

The child smiled up at him and waved, "Hi, Mr. Northman."

"I suppose you should accustom yourself to calling me Eric, and I should begin calling you Sookie," Eric decided.

"Okay, Eric," Sookie smiled wider.

"And I suppose you should call me 'mom,'" Jeanie added. "I'll only be playing the role when I absolutely must among the humans. Otherwise, you are obviously free to move around as you wish."

"I could always call my Maker to include him in this farce," Eric pointed out. "Even my Child could contribute greatly to the image of a nuclear family."

The Djinn shook its head, "Neither of them are capable of taking on this task. It is important that you understand that. This undertaking is meant to be small and quiet. The entire Gaul line going missing is neither small, nor quiet."

"Why me and not my Maker, then?" Eric demanded suspiciously. "Certainly, a vampire twice my age would be the better choice."

"Temperament," the Djinn replied casually. "Your demeanor is more fitted to this girl's needs."

Eric glared at the creature, less stunned this time, and able to make a more in-depth appraisal. She was attractive, but he was confused by the lack of _draw _he had to her. There was no sexual pull, nor a desire to feed. The Djinn might as well have been a walking, talking tree. Then again, there was something else about her that stirred a different kind of lust. He _coveted_ her, but not sexually. There was a strange stirring in his gut to take the Djinn's head, but it felt miscalculated. Some deep-seated wisdom within the vampire insisted he should not do so.

"Do I have any sort of accommodations, or shall I be living in the hedges?" Eric asked lazily, moderately prepared with a sarcastic suggestion to hide his darker wondering.

"We don't have hedges," Sookie frowned. "We got rose bushes, though!"

One of Eric's begrudging smiles tugged at his mouth, but he quickly banished it. There would be no keeping the girl safe if she knew he found her endearing already. At that moment, he steeled himself mentally for dealing with his client, and Sookie felt her own body tense as her bodyguard's mood shifted.

"I instructed Sookie on how to order me. She has had your house built. I will simply transport you and your belongings," Jeanie explained.

"You rebuilt my house in a week, and no one questioned it?" Eric asked in surprise. True, his accommodations were not lavish, but he had doubts there was not a single builder in Bon Temps that questioned the speed of the construction.

Jeanie shrugged, "The house is not a copy; it is merely large enough to pass for a home. Besides, humans do not usually pay that close of detail to things not immediately in their path."

"We better get going then," Eric frowned as he crossed his arms and waited as the Djinn instructed Sookie to order the move. When the girl piped in the suggested command, Jeanie raised her hands, crossed them over her chest, and the vampire felt the smallest of tremors shiver up his legs to his waist. The floor beneath him transformed, and the walls closed in on them.

"Done," Jeanie smiled.

"If nothing else, you are efficient," Eric offered the compliment as he gazed about the room curiously.

"Yes," Jeanie nodded in agreement.

"Will this house disappear out of your sphere of influence?" Eric asked.

"It will not. I created it with existing materials. The items or structures I make with the required components will remain. That is why this," She opened her palm and the sunstone Eric had been promised materialized in her hand, "will remain with you outside my sphere of influence. It is genuine, I was only given it to hold as payment to you."

"Thank you for reiterating that," Eric replied dryly.

"Sookie, turn around," Jeanie said suddenly. The little girl frowned but did as she was told. Eric stared apprehensively as the Djinn used her free hand to slice through the air and caused the vampire's skin to tear with the smoothness of an invisible scalpel. Despite the graphic nature of witnessing his chest cracked open, Eric had to confess that it was painless. Then the sunstone evaporated and seemed to pour into the open cavity before sealing itself.

"Congratulations," Jeanie spoke with minimal enthusiasm, "you are now immune to the sun, and I formed the stone _around _your heart, so you will have some resistance to being staked. Try not to get shot, though. It _is _only a stone, after all."

Staring at his chest in disbelief, Eric realized that he felt no different than he had before the stone had been made into part of his body. "Is it working?"

"It is," Jeanie assured. "You will feel it when the sun rises, and the urge to flee the sun will fade with time once your instincts begin accepting that you are in no danger."

"I suppose all that is left is for you to perform my transformation?" Eric strode boldly into his least favorite condition of his payment.

"Yes, you need a few days to adjust to your range," Jeanie agreed. "Are you ready?"

"As I will ever be," Eric sighed and waited. "Sookie, you should see this." Sookie peered over her shoulder, curiously. "I want you to fully understand that I am _not _what I am to appear to be. _This _is who I am, and you will do well to remember it."

Sookie's jaw slackened as she stared up at the giant of a man. His blue eyes were burning with a sense of duty, and the coiled muscles beneath his skin seemed to tremble with resolve. A jolt of admiration pulsed through Sookie's heart even while Jeanie's hands began to wave. As Eric's body and clothing shrunk and proportioned themselves to that of a young boy, Sookie could see a man's eyes staring from a child's face.

Eric's arms slowly uncrossed from his chest, and Sookie watched as he moved his limbs experimentally and craned his neck back and forth. As the vampire stretched, Sookie dutifully called Jeanie back into her bottle and put the vessel in her backpack.

"I am truly going to hate this," Eric decided aloud and then paused to touch his throat, surprised by the sound of his voice. As if finally resigning himself that he was, indeed, inhabiting the body of a child, Eric shut his eyes briefly and let loose a sigh. "I suppose," he began as his eyes reopened, "that I should walk by your home. You need to invite me inside as well."

Sookie stared a bit too long before she nodded and took Eric's hand to lead him out the door. Once they were in the night air, the girl had to take a moment to get her bearings. Despite the fact she and Jeanie had decided where Eric's house would go, it still took the girl a moment to figure out which direction she was facing upon arrival.

"This way," she tugged their hands and lead her bodyguard up the road.

"You do not have to hold my hand," Eric told her as he shook loose from her grip.

"Sorry," Sookie mumbled as she continued to lead the way.

"It is straight ahead?" Eric asked, gesturing up the road. "With the light on in the top left window?"

"You can see that?" Sookie strained to gaze past the darkness.

"Easily," Eric nodded as he grabbed Sookie by the wrist and flung her over his back like a book bag.

The girl let out a squeak of surprise as they sped up the road and were quickly stopped in front of her house. "Warn me if you're gonna do that!" Sookie hissed as she stumbled back to the ground and squatted down. "I'm gonna puke…"

"You will be fine," Eric assured. "I am still getting accustomed to this body. I wanted to be sure I could move you quickly if need be. If you are attacked, you must not run from me. Take cover, but do not put too much distance between us. I cannot protect what I cannot see."

Sookie looked up at the vampire boy from her position crouched toward the ground. "I'm kinda scared, Eric." It was easier to call him by his first name now that they were near the same physical size.

Glancing down at the girl, it took Eric by surprise to find such little distance between them. Only moments ago, he had towered above her when she was at her full height. Now, very little space remained between them as she was nearly seated on the gravel driveway.

"I will not let anything happen to you," Eric assured. "On my honor, I will not." Stooping down until he was seated in the rocks alongside her, the vampire gave a reassuring smile. "I promise, it is not always attackers lurking in the shadows. There will be times when you will constantly feel in danger, and times you will forget why I am even by your side."

Sookie returned his smile before realizing why they were sitting outside."Oh! I have to invite you inside! Eric, you're invited in!" Sookie laughed as they remained seated on the driveway. The child vampire smiled at her sudden invitation, but both their grins faded as she mumbled, "I'm sorry Jeanie had to turn you into a kid."

The reassuring smile became a bit wider and authentic. "It has its advantages."

"Like what?" Sookie wondered.

"Aside from the sunstone I was paid with, there is the benefit of becoming allied with the future queen of Elfyria," Eric told her. "Perhaps I could become the liaison between the two communities. That is quite beneficial even if I prefer to remain removed from most political positions."

"Why?" Sookie clung to the name Elfyria, realizing only at that moment that the stories Jeanie had been telling her over the years were real.

Eric stood back to his feet before scooping Sookie into his arms and flying to her bedroom window. Sookie clung to his neck as they gently landed on her bed and sat cross-legged in front of each other.

"I enjoy the freedom of being removed from politics," Eric whispered to keep the other two humans in the house from waking.

"Will being a princess make me lonely?" Sookie wondered.

Eric became thoughtful, "I suppose it depends on those with whom you surround yourself. A lot of individuals who are the best at their jobs can appear distant to those nearby." Eric paused and looked around. "Where is your Djinn?"

"In her bottle," Sookie pulled a Green River Soda bottle from her bag and placed it on her nightstand. "She said she'll probably hang out in there most of the time unless she's needed. She told me to make it look different so no one would mess with it." The girl frowned as she thought of her new friend being trapped in the little container all the time. "She tried to explain why, but it didn't make sense to me."

"What did she tell you?" Eric wondered.

Sookie thought hard about how Jeanie had phrased the explanation. "Something about trans-dimensional creatures and how they upset people."

Eric's mouth tightened. "Trans-dimensional creature… It means that she can move from one world to another."

"Like Mars?" Sookie wondered.

Eric snorted, "No… I suppose the explanation would be hard for you to understand… Let us simply say that the Djinn's presence in this world naturally brings out the worst in people. That, above all else, is probably why she _needed _to find you a bodyguard of this world."

"Jeanie doesn't bring out the worst in people," Sookie defended. "She's a good person."

"The Djinn is not a person, Sookie. It is a tool," Eric tried to explain.

"She is _not_!" Sookie protested, her voice rising, and Eric found himself relenting so she would not wake her family.

"Alright, alright," he agreed.

"And I don't want to hear you call Jeanie 'it' ever again! I don't want you to call her 'the Djinn' either. Her name's Jeanie, and she's a girl, so you should treat her like a lady!" Sookie told him firmly.

"So vehement," Eric smiled. "Being protective of an individual is dangerous for a Queen to do."

"A leader should protect their gang," Sookie told him, remembering how Jason stood up for his group of friends, even Hoyte, who was timid and a complete pushover. Her brother even loosely watched out for her. He did not step in when people said things about how weird she was, but he never let anyone beat her up. "Jeanie's my gang."

Eric's expression softened at the girl's aggressive urge to protect. "You are right." Sookie was surprised to hear him say that. "A Queen _should _protect her people, and Jeanie and I are your only people right now."

"What about Gran and Jason?" Sookie asked woundedly.

"I suppose they are your people, too," Eric relented. "You need to remember that you should only offer protection to those you can keep safe. Otherwise, it is only words, and a Queen needs more than words."

Sookie frowned at that. She was only a little girl, and the concept Eric was trying to explain to her held a completely different meaning to her than his intention.

"When will you teach me to fight?" Sookie asked.

Eric smiled, "Tomorrow, after you wake up, I will introduce myself as your new neighbor, and promptly ask you if you want to show me around town. We can go to the woods, and I will begin teaching you to fight." Sookie grinned happily. "That pleases you?"

"Sure! If I become strong, I can have a bigger gang!" Sookie's grin widened.

Staring for a moment, Eric relented his pondering and offered a smile instead. The girl was too young to understand the true meaning of strength and power. Despite that, the fire of duty burned in her soul, and that was far more important at her age. Desire and a target in which to aim her passion were of greater need than comprehension.

"Get some sleep, Sookie," Eric encouraged as he clambered off her bed and noted the awkwardness of his stunted height. He would need to spend his evening accommodating his new dimensions. It was also essential to find a food source.

In what felt like an age-old reflex, Eric tucked Sookie into her blanket and turned off the lamp. "I will see you in the morning," the statement seemed foreign to him as he walked to the window. "Goodnight, Sookie."

With that, the vampire boy jumped from the house and floated to the ground slowly. The controlled drop felt difficult with his diminished bulk, and Eric had to admit it was a lucky thing that he had not slammed himself and Sookie against the siding of the house when he had flown them through the window earlier.

Deciding that evasion should come before attack, Eric practiced levitating, falling, and rocketing within the vast sky, all while keeping a watchful eye on the house that fell under his protection.

Once Eric felt he had remastered his gift of flight, the vampire began investigating the land he would be existing on. Despite having a house up the road, he knew little time would be spent there unless Sookie was with him. Of course, wardrobe changes would be required to keep up the pretense of a living child, Eric figured that would be his only time spent alone. _I need to figure out a feeding plan,_ Eric realized as he walked the edge of the woods with mild interest. His nose and ears would alert him to trespassers before his eyes could. As a breeze wafted through the trees, Eric could smell were-panthers from the south. _That might be problematic,_ he considered. He would have to ask Sookie about the residents of southern Bon Temps when she woke.

The remainder of the night passed quickly, and Eric could only suspect it was because he was both dreading and anticipating the rising of the sun. It would, allegedly, be the first sunrise he would painlessly experience in over a thousand years. Perhaps that was why the vampire found himself levitating back to Sookie's window and rousing her with a hand placed carefully over her mouth.

"I need you to be awake for a moment," Eric requested as big blue eyes stared up at him in surprise. "I am not in the habit of taking things for granted, you see. Would it be very troublesome for you to wait out the sunrise with me?" His hand slowly left her lips.

"Are you scared?" Sookie asked compassionately, not an ounce of mockery in her flute-like voice.

"I am cautious," Eric kept the disdain from his voice in deference to her lack of accusation.

"Okay," she yawned and rubbed her sleepy eyes. "Let me just get my jeans outta the closet for today. If you get burnt, you can hide in there for the day, and we can ask Jeanie what went wrong."

Eric felt the tension leaving his shoulders. "That is an excellent plan." At least he was stuck with a child with fundamental problem-solving skills.

"Although," Sookie yawned again as she went to her closet and took out a t-shirt and a pair of shorts, "I bet you'll be fine. Jeanie seemed awful sure you were good to go."

Climbing across her bed, Sookie reached to the window and made sure the curtain was clutched in her hand. "I'll draw them real fast if you look like you're smoking."

Eric could not help but smile, "Do not worry about that. The closet is near enough."

"Oh, okay," Sookie let go of the fabric and leaned forward to rest her chin on the sill. Another giant yawn erupted from her mouth. Eric had forgotten that she had probably been up well past her bedtime to retrieve him the previous night, and now he had awakened her before sunrise.

"I am sorry to have forced you awake," Eric apologized. He was no longer tall enough to remain on the bed and rest against the window frame, so he stood and came to stand beside the girl he would be getting to know over the years.

"That's okay," Sookie gave him a brilliant smile that belied her fatigue. "It just means I'll sleep extra good tonight."

Eric smiled again as he folded his arms against the window sill and waited for dawn to break the horizon. "Sookie," he remembered, "who lives south of here?"

"Oh, a whole bunch of people," Sookie shrugged. "It's a little place called Hot Shot. Not really a town or anything, just a few families that keep mostly to themselves. A lot of them are homeschooled, so I don't see any of them much."

"I see," Eric frowned. "How far away is Hot Shot?"

Sookie shrugged, "I dunno. Maybe five miles or so? I've only managed to walk there once last year with Jason. We didn't quite make it there, though. A buncha boys were running around naked in the woods, and Jason turned us right around."

_The stench rolling out of the woods from that distance would imply that it is a were-panther settlement, _Eric decided. "It would be best not to go there."

"Why?" Sookie wondered. "Plenty of kids run around naked in those woods. There's a good swimming pond in there. No leeches. I always wear a swimsuit, though," she admitted. "Gran says it's not ladylike to go bare in public."

Eric chuckled, "No, I suppose it is not." His body tensed involuntarily as the sun approached the horizon, and he found himself becoming very still as the first ray erupted from the hilltop.

Sookie felt the vampire become a statue beside her, and she found herself staring at him, prepared to pounce on him with a blanket at the first sniff of smoke to her nostrils. Instead, Eric remained motionless as more and more light filled her bedroom. She watched as that stillness broke, and the vampire's jaw slowly drooped toward his chest. His eyes glowed with the reflection of the sunrise, and she could not help but smile.

"It looks like Jeanie was right," Sookie smiled as she patted his shoulder. "I'm gonna go back to sleep."

"Alright," Eric ran his hand through his hair as his tension finally abated. "I will take cover in the woods until it is time to meet your family."

"See you later," Sookie waved as her new friend hopped in the window frame and launched himself into the sky. For a moment, she thought of Peter Pan and his Lost Boys. As Eric disappeared into the forest, Sookie finally turned back to her bed and curled beneath the thin summer blanket.

Spending the remainder of the early morning concealed once more in the line of trees framing the farmland, Eric attempted to keep his alertness despite the distraction of sunlight glimpsing off his pale skin. _Perhaps I should have Sookie command the Djinn… ask Jeanie…_he made a point to correct himself, knowing that the little girl was quite protective of her magical creature. _I should see if Sookie will grant me some more color to my skin. I do not want to stand out too much,_ he finished the thought.

Another distraction of not knowing exactly what he looked like nagged at him. It was hard to comprehend his own appearance as a child, but the abrupt change in his status in the world was glaringly obvious. The self-control he would need to practice was monumental on its own, and so was the realization that he would have a hard time not standing out. After all, a nine-year-old with the wealth of knowledge Eric Northman had at his disposal, would not go entirely unnoticed.

Finally, Eric heard stirrings inside the Stackhouse farm and only waited a while longer before he began the stroll toward the gravel driveway to introduce himself to Sookie's family.

Upon his arrival at the front door, Eric stared, marveling at the height of the entrance. He was used to nearly striking his head on most thresholds, and now he had more than a generous amount of clearance.

With an annoyed sigh, the vampire knocked gently on the door and waited. It did not take long before the door swung open, and a young boy stood in front of him.

"Hi," the boy frowned, "can I help you?"

"I am Eric. I moved into the house up the street yesterday," Eric was grateful that the boy did not seem confused by this statement. Apparently, Jeanie was correct that no one seemed to precisely realize how long the construction of the house had taken. "I wanted to introduce myself."

"Oh," the boy smiled happily, "nice to meet you. I'm Jason Stackhouse." The older Stackhouse sibling put out his hand to shake, and Eric begrudgingly accepted it. That was another thing he would need to get used to. As an adult, people accepted his unwillingness to be touched by strangers. It was not so simple with children. They needed to feel and learn about everything. "Wow, you got cold hands."

"Yes," Eric agreed and offered nothing else.

"You wanna come inside? Where're your parents?" Jason asked as he opened the door wider.

"My mother is at home. She is sickly and very rarely able to leave her bed," Eric decided that would be enough of an excuse to keep people from wanting to disturb his pseudo mother.

"What about your dad?" Jason frowned.

"Killed in action," Eric replied simply, not wanting to bother with too much backstory.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Jason grimaced as he escorted the newcomer to the kitchen. "My parents are dead, too. Car accident."

"My condolences," Eric offered, earning a strange look from the boy at the formal statement.

"Uh, thanks," Jason gestured into the kitchen. "That's my Gran. Gran, this is Eric. He just moved here yesterday."

An older woman in her early sixties turned to see the new boy in her kitchen. "Hello there, Dear," Adele Stackhouse greeted. "I'm Mrs. Stackhouse."

"Hello," Eric was getting bored with the formalities and wished he could be 'introduced' to Sookie so that he would have an excuse to leave.

"Is your family with you?" Adele asked as she dried her hands on a dishtowel and came over to assess the pale boy standing in her kitchen.

"No, my father is dead, and my mother is very frail," Eric told her the simple backstory he had come up with to explain himself. "She is trying to save up her strength for school registration."

Adele's face turned to one of sorrow, "I see." Eric was surprised by the woman's expression. There was no pity, only empathy. "Well, if you'd like, I would be happy to send you home with some food and take a load off your mother."

Another excuse came to mind, but Eric thought receiving meals would be an excellent pretext for spending so much time at the Stackhouse residence, "Thank you, Mrs. Stackhouse."

"You're very welcome, Eric," Adele chuckled. _What a funny boy, _she thought merrily at his prim habits. Perhaps losing his father so young and having to care for his mother had wizened the boy beyond his years. "So, whereabouts did you move in Bon Temps?"

"A mile or so up the road," Eric replied, still standing rigidly in the entryway of the kitchen. Jason had long since flopped into a kitchen chair and stared beleaguered at the new kid.

Adele smiled happily, also accepting the quickly built house nearby and continued on with making breakfast.

"I wonder what's keeping Sookie?" Adele mumbled to herself as the breakfast plate sat on the kitchen counter.

"Who is Sookie?" Eric asked, knowing that he should.

"Oh, my granddaughter. She's Jason's younger sister," Adele explained with a smile. "She's usually such an early bird, and it's nearly ten. Jason, go wake your sister up!"

The boy jumped from his chair at his grandmother's command and began jogging through the house to the upstairs. Eric could hear the brother dragging his sister out of bed, and he felt a pang of regret that she could not sleep longer. It was, after all, his fault that she had such a late night.

Eventually, his young client returned, her blonde hair reaching far and wide from bedhead. Eric thought the sharp angles of the strands made her look adorable and found himself smiling.

"Morning, Eric," Sookie yawned and waved as she smoothed her shirt with her free hand and covered her yawn with the other.

"Good morning, Sookie," Eric did not miss the way the grandmother and brother tensed. It seemed, Jason had not told Sookie Eric's name, and they both worried that the boy would be suspicious how she knew him. Instead, they relaxed at Eric's easy acceptance.

"How old are you, Eric?" Adele quickly changed the subject in hopes that the boy would not ask how Sookie knew his name.

"Nine," Eric smiled in a way that made Sookie laugh.

"The same age as Sookie! You two will probably be in the same class then!" Adele smiled.

"Perhaps she can show me around the school," Eric nodded.

"I'd like that," Sookie accepted her breakfast plate from Gran and the kiss the woman planted on the top of her head.

"It's a small school," Jason informed him. "Every grade has less than sixty kids in it."

"I have been homeschooled up until now," Eric told him.

"Oh, I guess it'll seem pretty big to you, then," Jason laughed.

"Are you really smart?" Sookie asked, already knowing the answer.

Deciding that the Stackhouses would not appreciate a braggart, Eric settled for a smirk as he replied, "I do well at studying."

"What's your favorite subject?" Sookie asked, using the opportunity to get to know her bodyguard on a relatable level.

"Reading," Eric replied, trying to think of the sort of classes children Sookie's age took.

"Sookie loves to read," Adele offered. "She's already reading at an advanced level."

Eric seemed delighted to hear that, "Really? What do you like to read?"

Sookie's face flushed. The books she could read were definitely far below the types Eric was referring to. "Nancy Drew's my favorite."

Eric frowned as he absorbed this, and Sookie fidgeted. "I have been more partial to The Hardy Boys."

Adele chuckled, "Of course you are, it's more tuned towards boys."

"What about sports?" Jason injected curiously.

"What about them?" Eric turned to the brother.

Jason rolled his eyes, "What kinda sports do you play?"

Eric paused again in contemplation, "I am not particularly interested in sports, but I am capable of playing any of them."

"You wanna play catch with me?" Jason asked excitedly. With most of his friends living on the other side of town, it would be nice to have a boy nearby to hang out with when he did not want to bike two miles to meet up with his usual friends. Sure, Eric was his little sister's age, but if he could occasionally fill in to throw the football around, Jason could overlook the age gap.

"I suppose," Eric shrugged. "Sookie, you come, too."

The girl perked up excitedly, but her brother scowled. "Sookie can't throw for nothin', and she's scared of the ball."

Eric felt his lip twitch into a smile. "Then it is about time she got over it." Sookie looked at Eric admiringly as he pushed away from the table and headed toward the door. "I will meet you outside after you finish breakfast."

As the boy left the house, Adele clucked to herself, "What an interesting boy."

"He's a weirdo," Jason grumbled as he stabbed at the last of his sausage, and Sookie began shoveling her eggs into her mouth.

"No, he's not," Sookie defended after she had swallowed her food and avoided Gran's chastising about talking with her mouth full.

"What, you gotta crush on him already?" Jason teased.

"It's not that at all," Sookie huffed. "He's new. Of course, he'll seem different to us at first."

Adele's eyebrows raised in surprise at Sookie's point, "That's right, Sookie. He is new, and it's important to treat him kindly and _learn _about him instead of judging how he does things. He does have a very formal speech to him, doesn't he? I thought I was talking to a little prince," she giggled as she began cleaning up the kitchen.

"Maybe that's how they talk where he comes from?" Sookie suggested, hoping to cover for Eric's accent. _I wonder where he's actually from?_

After their breakfast was finished, Sookie and Jason put on their shoes and ran outside to meet Eric sitting on the porch with a traveling gaze.

"What're you looking at?" Jason asked as he headed toward the shed for his football. Gran had forbidden having one in the house since the boy had hit the china cabinet with his ball. Nothing had broken, but the grandmother had taken action regardless.

"Everything. The light here is so different than I'm used to," Eric replied honestly, hoping that he could explain any further question.

"Where are you from?" Jason asked as he arrived at the shed and grabbed the football from the shelf by the gasoline tank.

"New York," Eric answered as he rose from his seat on the porch step.

Sookie stood quietly as the boys talked. Even though she had visited Eric twice in New York, she had no idea that was where she had been.

"Wow! You ever seen Times Square?" Jason asked excitedly.

"I did not live in New York City," Eric told him. "I lived in Buffalo, but I have been to Times Square several times."

Jason lobbed the football at the new boy, and Eric approached Sookie as his hands familiarized themselves with the new way they had to grasp the oblong shape.

"Here," Eric took Sookie's wrist in his hand, placing the ball against her palm. "Fingers here," he put her small hands in the proper position, so her pinkie and ring finger settled between the last two laces. "Throw like this," he manipulated her arm "and let the ball roll off your fingertips like this." Eric simulated the sensation she should experience by rotating the leather into her palm. After securing the ball in her hands, Eric took a few steps back. "Throw it to me," he encouraged, and Sookie did as he asked. A loose spiral wobbled to him, and Eric lobbed the football back to her while taking a few steps back. "Again."

They repeated the toss several times until Eric was about ten feet away, and the vampire turned to Jason. "You can go further out. She can throw to me, I will pass to you, and we can do an 'L' shape pass until she improves her distance."

Nodding in agreement, Jason ran about ten yards out, and the game of catch began. The older brother had to admit to himself after a while that Eric Northman was a pretty good teacher. His sister's throws were improving drastically, and Jason had been trying to teach her to pass a football for the past two years to no avail. All of a sudden, Eric showed up, and his sister could throw it like it came naturally. It also seemed that as long it was Eric throwing to her, Sookie was not scared of the football at all.

_Looks like a little crush is all it takes to motivate Sook_, Jason thought amusedly. He was grateful that he was far enough away that his sister could not hear his musings. Instead, she kept grinning, throwing, and catching.

With a happy smile, Jason watched his sister play and be joyful for the first time in a very long time.

**TBC**

**A/N: Please, remember to review!**

**-Andi**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: God, Help the Outcasts**

To say that Eric Northman was enduring an excessive amount of nervousness while walking to the first day of third grade would be an understatement. After hiding the truth of his identity for centuries, the vampire thought that he was well adept at blending in. However, in the body of a child experiencing all the vampiric strength and impulse, Eric was all too aware of the freedoms he had lost upon taking on the job of protecting Sookie Stackhouse for the next fifteen or twenty years.

"You okay?" Sookie asked kindly of Eric as her brother broke away from them in the school hallway to head to his own class.

"I am fine," Eric assured tightly as Sookie nudged him toward their classroom. At least with such a small school, there was no difficulty ending up in the same class. The elementary level only had one teacher per grade, and that made Eric's job much more manageable. The fewer people he was forced to glamour, the better. With any luck, they would get through the school days without incidents. So far, Eric had not needed to ward off any attacks on the young princess, and he hoped it would stay that way. Although part of him hated biding his time, the more practical side knew he would fair better in a fight if he was once more in his actual adult body.

As he arrived in class, Eric took a seat near Sookie, prepared to glamour everyone in the room if the teacher dared to assign seats. He _had _to be either at her side or directly behind her no matter what. _Perhaps I should have been registered with a surname using the letter 'S' to assure alphabetical assigned seating would not be an issue…_

While more students filtered in, the vampire felt a strange sensation creeping along his neck. At first, he believed it to be nothing more than the curious gazes of the other students. Although Sookie and Jason had spent the remaining week before school, introducing him to several children their age, Eric was still a novelty to the small town of Bon Temps. Notably, his "sickly mother" had created quite the gossip. He had found his home flooded with meals he would not eat, and encouraged Sookie to eat at his home while they began her lessons about the supernatural world. While Eric taught her about the different species, Sookie would munch on all sorts of comfort foods.

However, as the classroom filled and the stares turned to the teacher, Eric still felt that gripping sensation at the base of his skull. It was not uncomfortable, in fact, the vampire felt strangely at ease with the pressure. It was like Sookie's nervous grip on his shoulder or nape of his neck when he had flown with her. Trusting, but concerned.

"-meet the new student. Eric Northman."

Eric's eyes snapped to the teacher, speaking in front of the class, realizing that he was being introduced.

"Would you like to come up here, Eric, and let everyone know a little bit about yourself?" the teacher suggested, gesturing front and center.

With a fake smile plastered to his face, Eric rose from his seat and came to stand before his classmates. As he grew closer to the front of the room, he felt that gripping sensation tear away and had to wonder further about it. After all, he was under even greater scrutiny from this vantage point. "My name is Eric. I am from Buffalo, New York. I enjoy reading and playing chess." A few of the boys snorted, but he ignored it. _I cannot honestly think of anything else I enjoy that would be appropriate for a child of Sookie's age to comment on…_

Upon that realization, Eric reflexively nodded his head and returned to his seat.

"Alright, class," the teacher smiled a bit awkwardly, realizing that she had two strange children this year if the warnings about Sookie Stackhouse turned out to be accurate. "Who would like to tell us about their summer vacation? Tara?"

Tara Thornton was a young, black girl Eric had already seen several times in his single week in Bon Temps. She stayed at Sookie's house a majority of those short seven days, and Eric had summarized from the whispered conversations in the girl's room that Tara's mother was an abusive alcoholic.

"I just hung out with Sook most of the summer. We went fishin' and climbed some trees… This last week I've been getting to know Eric 'cause he lives between me and Sook's house," Tara added as if trying to come up with more to share. "He's really good at climbing trees."

"Better at climbing trees than a monkey?" One of the boys uttered to the boy next to him, and Eric witnessed Sookie's head snap to glare at him. The boy seemed frightened by the little girl's stare, and the vampire had to wonder about that response.

"Got somethin' to say, Bobby?" Sookie hissed icily. Eric's eyebrows raised at his little ward's tone. He had never heard her sound so pissed off. Not even when she defended Jeanie from his dehumanizing remarks.

Bobby's face turned bright red, making Eric realize why the situation was so peculiar. The culprit of the insensitive comment was clear on the other side of the room. Eric had only heard him because of his supernatural abilities. As had Sookie. Bobby and his friend were shocked to be heard at all by another classmate.

Suddenly, the grasping sensation at Eric's nape returned, and realization sprung to the vampire. _Sookie, _he understood. She could not hear his mind and had begun to subconsciously reach for his silence to quiet the remaining voices in the room. _No wonder the feeling reminded me of her, _he thought amusedly.

Understanding, at last, Eric allowed her presence to hide within him and focused on other things. It was easy to ignore the yammering and complete his workbook pages. No public school work would be any sort of distraction for him. However, he could sense Sookie struggling in front of him.

"What is wrong?" Eric whispered at Sookie's hunched back.

The girl turned wide eyes upon her bodyguard. She was terrible in school, barely managing to keep up with the class every year due to the constant distractions. Now, under the silence of Eric's mind, Sookie was noticing how much catching up she had to do.

"I'm gonna fall behind again," she whispered fretfully.

"I will not let that happen," Eric assured her. "You have plenty of time to catch up with everyone else, and with my help, you will fly right past them."

"I'm real dumb," Sookie admitted softly.

"You are not dumb," Eric smiled. "You have been distracted. That will end now that I am here. I will not let you fall behind again. Now, what is the problem?"

Turning in her seat, Sookie opened her math workbook and showed Eric the problem. It was nothing more than three-digit addition and subtraction for the first day of school, and as Eric retaught the girl how it was done, he nonchalantly let his skin touch Sookie's. They had discovered that physical contact brought absolute silence to Sookie's mind with no effort on her part.

By the time lunch rolled around, Eric had found that the logistics of staying by Sookie's side without drawing attention to himself were far more complicated than anything else. Keeping up the pretense of being a child was by far his most significant hurdle. Mostly, the vampire could solve this by speaking as little as possible, but the bathroom breaks and lunch breaks were proving to be an annoyance.

Finally, by the end of the first day of school, Eric would have Sookie at his own house and could drop the pretenses.

"What a relief," Eric sighed as he threw his backpack on the table and ran his hand through his hair. Sookie smiled and took the Djinn's bottle from her own bag and unstoppered it. Immediately, Jeanie oozed from the bottle, looking more like death than a vampire before the color restored to her body, and she looked lovely as always.

"Hi, Jeanie!" Sookie squealed happily as she hugged the creature. "Sorry, you're stuck in the bottle all day!"

"It is nothing, Sookie," Jeanie assured as she returned the hug. "How was your first day of school?"

"It was good," the girl shrugged. "It's weird not hearing everyone all day long. I might actually get to learn something this year!"

"You will be learning plenty," Eric assured. "First, we must catch you up with the rest of your class. Then we will work beyond that. You should have told me you were behind. We could have spent the last week remedying that."

"Sorry," Sookie pouted.

"There is nothing to do about the past," Eric pointed to the dining room. "Set up your books. We will handle this quickly."

"May I have a snack?" Sookie asked, hopefully.

"You know the food is wasted on me," Eric replied. "Eat whatever you like." The girl grinned and skipped off to the kitchen. "Is there a purpose for me to protect her?" Eric asked once the girl was gone from the room.

"I have told you your reason for being here," Jeanie replied as she began the slow stroll to join Sookie.

"The entire reason?" Eric asked.

"For a Djinn and even Endymion, the future is never certain. All the Voice of the Pantheon can do is arrange the players. He cannot give them a script to follow. How his players move in this world are based entirely on how well he knows them and how well he knows they work together," Jeanie explained before gazing down at the vampire with a smile. "In this scenario, however, Endymion is just as uncertain as you. The two of you have never known each other with her at such a young age. What's more, you have never experienced her young life alongside her. All we can do is hope that everything will turn out how we pray."

{†}

Eric had been distracted with contemplation for the past few weeks as he still considered the short, but telling, conversation with Jeanie.

Bon Temps was shaping out to be far less of a challenge than he thought it would be. It might have been the sunlight, but he discovered that he was having a rather good time as Sookie Stackhouse's bodyguard. Nothing had lunged from the shadows to attack her, and she seemed to handle herself quite well with other students. No one appeared to _dislike _the girl, but many were obviously wary of her. More than likely, it was the nature of her gift that created this distance. The humans could sense that she was not quite like them, but her sweet character and fiery personality brought more and more interest now that the vampire's silent mind gave Sookie the appearance of normalcy.

Something that did not surprise Eric was the immediate springing of a rumor that he and Sookie had fallen in 'Puppy Love.' The vampire was not particularly familiar with the expression, but the word 'love' was quite telling. In a way, he did not object to the assessment. In three short weeks, Eric felt that he _did _love the child to an innocent degree. Sookie was a charming little girl who he was sure would grow into a lovely young woman. Her smile was as genuine as her sharp tongue, and he admired the way she called people out on their flawed manners, including himself.

Another surprising realization came to Eric when he discovered how enjoyable spending time with Sookie's family had become. As long as he minded his manners around Adele, she regularly doted on him, and Jason often tried to include him in his own gang.

_It is so different than my own mortal childhood, _Eric thought as he romped around with Sookie and her brother. Other boys, friends of Jason, were often part of the games, and Eric found himself nearly lost to the experience. If it were not for the combat training he was pacing Sookie through in the early evenings under the ever-watchful eye of Jeanie, Eric might have forgotten his real mission.

"What's wrong?" Sookie asked as she gasped for breath, and her reddened face shone with sweat.

Eric stared into the woods. He sensed nothing and could not decide why that bothered him. His senses felt dull, and his body felt weaker. It was suddenly apparent what the problem was.

"I need blood," Eric realized that he had not drunk since being shrunk to the form of a child. His new life had been successfully obscuring his own nature from him.

"Oh," Sookie paused. "Where are you gonna get it?"

"Apparently, I need less in this form," Eric considered. "I can probably take a nip out of the teacher tomorrow after school. She would not even notice with the small amount I require."

Sookie's face scrunched, "It's been a month, and you still don't sound much like a kid." Eric looked at Sookie curiously. "You sound like an old-timey grown-up."

Eric smiled, "That is because I _am_. You cannot forget that, Sookie. I am not one of your little friends, no matter how I look right now."

Pouting, Sookie nodded, "I know that… Still, you _are my_ friend, right?"

Her insistence made Eric smile, "I am your friend, Sookie."

"And you feed me all the time after school," Sookie sucked in a deep breath as her flushed skin began to subdue to its typical hue, "so, you can have some of my blood if you're hungry."

Eric's smile disappeared, "No."

"What? You said you only need a little-"

"No," Eric repeated as he gave Sookie a gentle shove to rejoin her friends.

Finding that her suggestion was being taken with anger, Sookie was confused as Eric continued to scowl for the remainder of the late Sunday morning. After attending church and then running around with Eric and her human friends, Sookie thought that her vampire would be grateful for at least a snack. Instead, he appeared disgusted by the offer.

_Do I smell bad? _Sookie wondered worriedly as she and Jason headed back to the farmhouse with Eric in tow. When they arrived, Sookie forgot her disappointment at the sight of her cousin.

"Hatty!" Sookie squealed as she dove for her lanky relative and gave her a big hug. "Gran didn't say you were coming!"

"Yeah," Hadley returned the hug meekly. Her parents had been fighting all morning, and her father left the house before her mother could. "Surprise!" she faked weakly.

"I'm glad you're here! I've missed you!" Sookie squeezed tighter. "Oh," she pulled away and gestured to Eric. "This is Eric Northman. He just moved up the road last month. He's my new friend!"

"Nice to meet you," Hadley smiled at the boy.

"You as well," Eric nodded his head before glancing at the car. Gran and Sookie's aunt did not appear to be staying.

"Are you leaving?" Eric asked of the grandmother as Sookie and Hadley giggled to one another and hugged once more.

"Yes, dear, but feel free to stick around. My brother is going to be by to watch Sookie and the others. Linda and I are having a mother/daughter day," Adele explained with a smile.

"Thank you, Ma'm," Eric nodded as he turned back to Sookie. She was still hugging her cousin, but the emotion behind it had changed drastically. Instead of a mirthful reunion, Sookie's embrace seemed more comforting and protective.

"What is wrong?" Eric asked in a far more demanding tone than he had intended.

Sookie looked over Hadley's shoulder worriedly. "Hatty didn't know Uncle Bartlett was coming."

Eric frowned at the explanation. It was not so uncommon for relatives to dislike each other. Regardless of that impulse to brush aside the girl's reasons for the gloomy attitude, the vampire felt it would be a disservice to his ward if he did not investigate a possible threat to her safety and health.

"Why do you dislike your uncle?" Eric asked as he crossed his arms over his chest, expectantly.

Hadley's expression became more distraught, "He spanks me when I ain't done nothing wrong!"

Jason rolled his eyes, "Aw, c'mon, he's an old-timer. Anything can set them off. You know that. Andy's grampa gave him a smack across the face for wipin' his nose on his sleeve at the dinner table."

Despite Jason's protests, Eric was not so dismissive about Hadley's dismay. "Sookie," the vampire whispered, "go play with Jason for a bit, but do not go too far."

"Okay," Sookie took a tentative step away. Even though she could not hear his mind, there was a note of concern in his voice that made the young girl worry about her guard's next actions.

Once Sookie and Jason had taken a football down the hill, Eric ushered Hadley a little further from Adele and Linda before instilling his glamour on the cousin. He asked about the spankings and any other ways that the older man touched her. By the end of her monotone recollections, it was apparent to the vampire that the little girl was being groomed for much worse encounters.

With a bit of effort, the vampire managed to alter the memories of the incidents from Hadley's mind and sent her off to play with her cousins.

When the vampire stood alone near the house, it was Adele that remarked with a chuckle, "My, my… I don't think I've ever seen you so far away from Sookie before!"

"I think it would be appropriate to properly introduce myself to Mr. Bartlett when he arrives rather than wait until later," Eric explained himself.

"So this is the little boy that's taken a shine to Sookie," Linda gave a strained smile. "I can already tell you'll grow up to be quite the ladykiller."

A smirk tugged at Eric's mouth at the accuracy of that statement. "I suppose."

Both women chuckled as a car bopped down the gravel driveway, and Eric purposefully loosened his posture to keep everyone at ease. As an older man slid out of the vehicle, Adele politely introduced Bartlett Hale to Eric Northman.

"This is Sookie's little boyfriend, Eric," Adele teased, trying to egg on the youngster but being both disappointed and mildly confused when the boy did not show any emotion about the title.

_I suppose being seen as her boyfriend would let me stay by her side without question, _Eric considered, but also understood that such an arrangement would cause the girl both confusion and pain as she aged. Shaking his head at the idea, Eric remembered himself and nodded at Bartlett Hale.

"Well, hello there, Eric," Bartlett grinned at the seemingly young boy. "It'll be good for Jason to have another boy around to play with. The poor kid always has to run around with the girls."

"Jason enjoys the company of his sister and cousin," Eric replied.

"Y'all behave now," Adele called to her grandchildren and waved merrily as she headed towards Linda's car.

Alone with Eric, Bartlett placed his hands on his hips and looked down at him with a grin. "Why don't you run along and play with Jason… Send Hadley up to the house when you do. She's got some magic fingers. Always makes my arthritis in my knee better."

Glaring up at the man, Eric shook his head, "I will not being doing that." His eyes caught Bartlett's, "As a matter of fact," his glamour encased the man's mind, "you will be following _me _into the house." Without hesitation, Bartlett Hale slumped into the farmhouse and stood blankly, staring down at Eric.

From there, the interrogation began. Eric uncovered all of Bartlett Hale's sins and future motivations. Discovering the extent of Bartlett's depravity, the vampire had to hold back the instinct to drain the bastard dry. That would bring the need to hide the body, and then the investigation of his disappearance could bring unwanted eyes into Bon Temps. For Sookie's sake, Eric could not risk more people flooding the small town. Instead, Eric glamoured his commands into Bartlett, ensuring the man would call the police on himself once he returned to the buffering zone of Monroe. There would be plenty of evidence of his crimes for the police to put the old bastard away for the remainder of his life. Perhaps if he was allowed to live, he could bring peace of mind to the families of the girls he had stolen over the years…

With his plan laid out, Eric left the house and Bartlett to distract the children for the remainder of the afternoon. He went so far as to invite them into his own home for the sake of keeping Sookie's mind far away from the son of a bitch sitting dazedly in the Stackhouse kitchen.

"Wow, your house is beautiful!" Hadley remarked as she wandered around the home. "It seems real empty, though?"

Eric hesitated, having been unprepared for guests, "After my father died, my mother threw out everything that reminded her of him. She got sick after that, and I suppose the house never really filled back up."

The children seemed to accept this explanation. "Is your mother upstairs? Want me to make her something to eat?" Hadley offered kindly.

"No, thank you. Mother will not eat anything until dinner," Eric was being drowned in southern hospitality, and he could not keep relying on Sookie to devour it all herself. She needed to stay in shape if she were going to rebuild an entire realm of supernaturals. A leader in the supernatural community had to be strong as well as smart. "Plus, our neighbors have been very considerate about keeping us fed."

Hadley smiled at Eric's decline to her offer. She could tell that the ways of the small town were both new and intimidating for him.

"I guess your neighbors up north weren't always trying to keep y'all fed, huh?" Hadley guessed.

"No, things were a lot less… Insistent," Eric tried to offer a milder word than annoying.

The girl nodded in understanding, "Sometimes I feel like that too. Everyone pushes and pushes, wanting to get in and help. I want to be by myself, though."

"Don't you like us, Hatty?" Sookie's lip jutted out sadly.

"Of course I love you, Sookie," the older cousin wrapped her arms around the younger one. "I just feel a lot of things all at once, and I don't know how to talk about it. I don't even know what it is. I just know that it makes me want to push people away and figure it all out."

Eric listened intently before offering, "It is what growing up is. Talking to grown-ups openly can actually shed a lot of light on those feelings. They may not have felt exactly what you are now, but they all have gone through these times of uncertainty. Sometimes you do not need someone to _know _how you feel; you merely need someone who understands_ why_ you are feeling that way."

"Who are ya? Dear Abby?" Jason wondered with a laugh.

"I have lived a lot of places and seen a lot of things," Eric shrugged, knowing that given his suggested youth, anything he said seemed cockier than usual.

"Whatever the reason you think that," Hadley began slowly, "it _did _make me feel better."

"I am glad," Eric offered one of his rare smiles and brought Sookie a wave of admiration.

It was so easy to forget that Eric was an ancient vampire, and the only evidence her young mind had to remind her of this fact was the image of his intimidating, grown-up form from the two times they had met before the transformation. Whenever Sookie needed a reminder that Eric was not actually her friend, but her bodyguard, her mind conjured up that memory. Cold, uncaring… Sookie could not comprehend the sensation of feeling like someone's paycheck, but she could understand people being friendly to her when she brought Gran's cookies in for another classmate's birthday. The more difficult emotion to interpret was the dismay this knowledge brought her. Deep down, she really wanted Eric to be her friend and to care for her like Tara and Hadley did.

**TBC**

**A/N: PLEASE, REMEMBER TO REVIEW!**

**-ANDI**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: Part of Your World**

Sookie let out an audible 'oomph' as she fell onto her back after having her legs swept out from beneath her.

"How many times are you going to fall on your ass before you learn to follow the momentum?" Eric demanded in his usual bored manner as he stood over Sookie with his arms crossed over his chest.

Nine years seemed to fly by as Eric became more and more embedded in Sookie Stackhouse's life. The vampire watched as she blossomed into her womanhood and had to relearn boundaries as her body changed and filled. Her long arms and legs were slowly proportioning to her rounding torso, and as her chest filled out, Eric discovered a threat he had forgotten about entirely… Teenage boys.

As Sookie's beauty became undeniable, and the stigma of strangeness she brandished as a child vanished, Eric found himself grouching internally. No mortal boy would ever know Sookie as he did, and the farce of such attempts only increased the vampire's ire. This knowledge fueled Eric's possessiveness and affection. All the while, Sookie seemed to appreciate and crave her vampire's seemingly greedy manner.

Of course, as Sookie grew, so did Eric. This brought the distraction of teenybopper girls, and Eric was less than enthused by that turn of events. Unlike the rest of his classmates that agonized over clearing up their acne and hiding fresh blemishes on their puberty stricken skin, Eric suffered no such affliction. Due to his lack of actual life, his skin remained perfectly clear, and that gave him even more attention than he was already fed up with.

The other annoyance of the past nine years came in the form of a complete _lack of_ attacks on Sookie. Not that Eric wanted to see any harm come to the girl, but to be stuck in a child's form while remaining wildly useless kept the vampire quite nonplussed.

"What's wrong?" Sookie asked of Eric's scowl as she crawled back to her feet.

"Thinking about the waste these past nine years have been," Eric grumbled as he kept his unimpressed stance.

Sookie frowned at Eric's remark, "I've been happy."

Hesitating, Eric tried to remedy the sting of his comment, "I meant in terms of being your bodyguard. There has not been a single supernatural attack this entire time." Sookie had been left blissfully unaware of the extent of her Great Uncle's efforts to molest her cousin as well as the ambitions he had toward Sookie as well. Bartlett was arrested for molestation, abuse, and trafficking of children. Thankfully, the humiliation of the familial relationship had been minimized due to the difference in last names. Adele had been mortified by the situation and quickly distanced her family from her brother.

"You've taught me a lot about combat, magic, and supernatural creatures, though," Sookie pointed out mopingly. "I wouldn't have learned any of that if you weren't around." Jeanie had explained that magical creatures, their customs, and politics all vary from dimension to dimension and that her knowledge of their particular world sorely lacked due to Endymion's persistent efforts to keep the information from her.

"That is precisely my point," Eric attempted to explain. "Everything you have encountered could have been resolved by Jeanie. She could have conjured tomes within this world, had you learn about the supernatural creatures, and been protected from the human problems without me."

"Jeanie couldn't teach me to fight like you," Sookie pressed. "She's told me that plenty of times."

"I suppose that is true," Eric relented. "At least I know you will be able to keep yourself safe while I handle an attack _if_ one ever occurs."

"You sound restless," Sookie laughed.

"That could be it," Eric confessed. His blood intake was minimal, wanting to keep a low profile and reduce the need for glamour. The last thing he needed was to inadvertently lobotomize a local with excessive memory wiping. What was worse, he could not chance feeding on the rare visitors from out of town and risk his scent wandering out into the world. A Were or even a vampire could potentially identify his scent. There would always be risks of someone from Bon Temps being sniffed in Shreveport, or Gods forbid New Orleans, but Eric did his due diligence at avoiding feeding on someone who would leave town sooner rather than later.

The lack of sex was not quite so challenging to deal with, although still unwelcome. After all, Eric had gone through points of celibacy willingly before, and they lasted much longer than the few years he felt it appropriate to wait. Even as he approached a physical age where he could potentially take on sexual partners, he knew better than to bother. Girls Sookie's age could not keep love out of their system. It was one of the reasons he did not trouble himself with women not yet well in their twenties.

"Eric?" Sookie's voice broke his considerations.

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry the past few years have been so boring for you," she murmured as she grabbed her sweatshirt and pulled it over her head.

"It has not been all that boring," Eric smiled. "I have received a lot of experiences I could not have hoped for."

"Sunlight," Sookie nodded.

Eric laughed, "You should know better than that." Turning slowly, Sookie gave Eric a hopeful smile. "I have been reconnected in a way to humans. I have been forced to empathize with them and be both considerate and patient with them to appear mostly normal. I think being with you these past nine years has restored some of the humanity I thought lost to me."

Watching Hadley grow and head off to university, shortly followed by Jason, had been oddly satisfying for the vampire. _Miraculously,_ both of Adele's grandchildren had received full-ride scholarships to the University of New Orleans and would be living together in an apartment off-campus when Jason started school the following month, Hadley was planning to study sociology and head into human resources. Jason had surprised everyone by deciding to go into communications and later apply to the NOPD.

"_Sookie,"_ Jeanie called mentally from her corner, making the girl jump, _"it is going on to midnight."_

"Oh," Sookie frowned at her reminder to go home and get some sleep. Her life had been very much like this since meeting Eric. They would spend all day together at school, come to his house for homework, and finish off with supernatural studies. Then, she would return to her own home, have dinner with her brother and Gran, and spend the evening with them. After saying goodnight to her family, Eric would fly her out of her bedroom and take her home with him once more. They would do combat training until midnight when Jeanie would chide in that it was time for bed.

As the pair strolled back up the road to Sookie's house, the young woman snuggled deeper into her hoodie.

"Are you cold?" Eric asked, worriedly.

"No," Sookie assured, "just thinking about the future."

"What about it?"

After a long pause, Sookie gripped the neck of the Djinn's bottle. For so long, she was used to the weight of Jeanie's presence, but over the years, she had come to understand Eric's assessment of her nature. As time passed, the Djinn felt less and less… real. Instead, Jeanie seemed more like a reference book or shopping center. If Sookie needed to know something, Jeanie had the answer. If Eric needed something for her combat training, Sookie would ask Jeanie for it. From pencils to free weights, Jeanie provided everything the young woman needed for her preparations as a supernatural princess.

"Will you leave me?" Sookie asked quietly as she bowed her head to hide behind her hair. As Jeanie's personality faded, the young woman felt more and more alone when thinking about her future.

"I do not know," Eric confessed. "I suppose it depends on the political climate of Elfyria once you begin your reign. I may need to remain for a while when you take your throne, but once the public recognizes your authority, it could be in your better interest to take on Fairy Guards. Without knowing the supernatural situation in our own realm, it is difficult to say what my best course of action should be. I will need to wait and have Godric fill me in on the circumstances."

"Do you _want to_ leave?" Sookie whispered even quieter.

The vampire sighed. Despite his best attempts, Sookie had obviously developed feelings for him, and even with his own emotions fluctuating as they both physically matured, Eric still hesitated to allow the change to happen in him. It was a greater struggle than he was willing to admit to himself, let alone to Sookie.

Adoration in its most innocent form had sparked within him the second the little girl she had smiled at him. That affection had transformed over the years to include admiration at the way she stood up for friends, family, and herself. He had never seen someone with so much self-respect and so little arrogance. Amusingly enough, he had felt a change in himself as well. Perhaps it was the influence of Adele or the opportunity of being treated once more like a child that put up the pretense of accepting the conditions. Whatever the reason, Eric felt transformed.

"There are many things I want to do, Sookie," Eric dodged the question vaguely. "And it may be unsafe and unwise for the future Queen of Elfyria to show favor toward a vampire."

"Will I have to marry a fairy?" Sookie asked dismally.

"Considering the dilution of your fairy heritage, it may be encouraged for you to do so," Eric admitted. "Then again, if you manage to save Elfyria as the partial fairy that you are when full-blooded fae could not, perhaps the purists will hold their tongues."

"What if I wanted to marry a human? Or a Were? Or…" Sookie trailed off a moment, "a shifter?"

Her addition to the word 'shifter' was telling. Sookie did not usually differentiate between Weres and shifters, and typically gave the term two-natured to narrow the gap the creatures created among themselves. Eric knew she wanted to say 'vampire' but did not want to give away her real thoughts. Instead of calling her out, he told the truth, "Going by the old laws of Elfyria, you will be required to marry a fairy, but extramarital affairs are quite common among fae royalty."

"Elfyria's fallen," Sookie could not help the need to wipe away a tear. "Why should I have to follow the rules of a lost kingdom? It fell for a reason! It should be my duty to restore the land and people, not the government and traditions that killed itself!"

"Sookie," Eric took her hand to draw her into one of his rare embraces. He knew she had purposefully stolen several and coerced him into far more. A part of him did not mind at all. "You need to be the queen that you think Elfyria needs, not the one they think you should be."

"Then why do you want to leave me?" Sookie looked up into his eyes. Her best friend for the last nine years was trying to create a distance between them, and Jeanie became more lifeless with every passing day.

It was not the age difference, Eric assured himself. No matter the gap in age, no existing creature would ever fill that chasm, it would always remain the same. There was no being his age that would _ever _make him feel the way Sookie did. He knew because he had met every single one that had existed the same amount of time as him.

_No, _Eric brushed away another of her self-pitying tears, _it is because she needs her own strength. _As her guard, he had to push her toward new experiences. As her educator in the supernatural and combat, he had to remain unobtrusive in her decision making.

_That is bullshit, _Eric called himself out. He was far more biased than his pupil. In reality, the reasons for his aversion to their feelings was the kindest he had ever been in his existence.

The vampire wanted her to experience normalcy. In a few short years, she would begin her journey in acquiring the ability to open the Gates of Elfyria. After that, she would have the enormous task of saving an entire realm. Until then, Eric wanted nothing more than for Sookie to have as standard and stress-free of a life as he could give her.

"If I told you I would stay forever," Eric began slowly, and felt his throat constrain at Sookie's hopeful gaze, "how hard would you really try at anything?"

Sookie's shoulders fell as she turned away to continue her walk up the road. She said nothing regarding his observation but had to admit to herself that Eric made her feel safe. Most of her efforts came with the knowledge that he would not always be there with the answers. She had to think for herself and fight for herself.

As they arrived at the farmhouse, Eric flew her into her room and waited as Sookie placed Jeanie's bottle on the nightstand. Once the Djinn's vessel was beside the bed, Eric nodded and silently left for the night.

When Eric was outside, Sookie turned to the bottle and bowed her head, "Are you going to leave me too?"

"_Yes,"_ Jeanie's voice echoed in Sookie's mind.

"When?" she choked. Despite the emptiness in her relationship to Jeanie these past years, Sookie could not help but cling to the despair of Eric and Jeanie missing from her life. Her heart and her shadow were both going to fall away.

"_Before you bring Elfyria back,"_ Jeanie explained.

Changing into her nightgown, Sookie confessed, "It's not really motivating to know that I lose my friends and family once I finish what y'all are asking of me."

There was an unpleasant silence after her remark, and Sookie felt that she had stunned her friend. Sookie had long since forgotten the last time she had heard the Djinn at a loss for words. Not since she had been a small child.

"You do this on purpose, don't you?" Sookie whispered.

"_Explain?"_ Jeanie's voice returned to neutrality.

"The emotionless creature thing. _You _do that, don't you? It's not really your nature to be this distant," Sookie guessed.

"_I wouldn't say it's against my nature,"_ Jeanie admitted._ "To exist as long as I have… Very little moves me anymore. It is not usually an act."_

"But it is now?" Sookie asked as she crawled into bed.

"_I do not know,"_ Jeanie whispered as Sookie reflexively turned out the lamp.

"Were you human before becoming a Djinn? Like Eric was before becoming a vampire?" Sookie yawned.

Jeanie wondered how to explain, _"Yes, I was human."_

"What happened to you?" Sookie pressed.

Gazing through the darkness of her prison, Jeanie allowed Sookie to disappear from her mind, and remembered a past she could usually disregard. _"I was a fearsome witch in my days as a human. I wanted more and more power. I became corrupt in my pursuit, and I broke many magical laws. The Pantheon sent Endymion to encourage the supernatural community to rise against me. Instead, he offered me the chance to become the most powerful creature in existence. More powerful than him or any God because I could directly influence… One way or another. I leaped at the opportunity with no regard for the consequences. I stole the power of the Djinn. I became a trans-dimensional creature, wiping my soul from the folds of history across any plane I dwelled." _

Sookie's eyes were saucers in the darkness. There had been discussion about trans-dimensional beings, especially in regards to her schooling on the Pantheon and other mythical creatures.

"Planes that you dwell," Sookie whispered.

"_There are true singular creatures in existence. The Gods and Goddesses, the Titans, and the hell beasts like Gahrm and Fenrir. They only have a single manifestation across all dimensions. Then there are trans-dimensional creatures like myself. We are the Djinns, Angels, and Endymions. Our existence is linked to many different planes of existence where only one version of us can exist among them. Usually, there are commonalities to those dimensions that bind us to specific worlds," _Jeanie let out a long sigh as she finished. _"That is all for now."_

Left with much to consider, Sookie turned onto her side and closed her eyes. Though her mind would not allow her to sleep with the new information, she knew better than to try and keep Jeanie talking. Having known the Djinn for so long, Sookie was all too aware of the fruitlessness of pushing her. Jeanie would simply close off her mind and remain in silence.

{†}

"Hey, Eric," Jason Stackhouse flopped onto the porch step of the farmhouse with a cold can of Coke and handed one to the presumed boy that lived up the road. "Where'd the girls go?" The vampire gestured to the hill where Hadley, Tara and Sookie were laying out in the sun, soaking in the warm rays. "Cool," Jason took a sip from his can and nudged his friend. "Wanna throw the football around?"

"Fine," Eric sighed, making sure to position himself where he could keep an eye on Sookie while entertaining her brother.

Jason set his drink down and went into the shed to retrieve his ball. When he emerged again, he smiled and shook his head while picking his Coke back up and lining himself up with Eric.

"When are ya gonna ask her out already?" Jason laughed, lobbing the football at Eric.

"What are you talking about?" he deftly caught the ball and sent it sailing back to Jason.

"Sookie, duh," Jason snorted. "When are you gonna ask her out?"

"I do not plan to," Eric replied.

"Are ya gay? Should Tara start bringing Laf around?" Jason teased as he gave another toss.

Eric considered proclaiming homosexuality to end the conversation, but that would draw unwanted attention, more than he already received from hormone-driven teenage girls. "No, I am not gay. I am merely uninterested in dating your sister."

"Then why you always got your eyes on her?" Jason grinned.

"I cannot date your sister, Jason," Eric tried to impress upon the older Stackhouse sibling.

"Aw, your mom won't let you date?" Jason tried to understand. "We could keep it secret! We won't even tell Gran!"

As the ball landed once again in his arms, Eric paused in returning it to Jason. "I would never let her go if she was mine."

Jason failed to catch the next throw, which knocked over his can of Coke and left Jason staring dumbly at his childhood friend. "Shit, are you serious? You wanna marry my sister?"

"It is not as simple as all that," Eric sighed. "I am not able to marry her."

"What are you talking about?" Jason was still staring.

"I am telling you because I cannot make myself tell her," Eric closed the distance between them. "If I could tell her, I would stay by her side until the end of time, but that is not our choice. She is meant for things far greater than me, and there is no changing that." Still staring uncomprehending, Jason watched as Eric grabbed the ball from the ground and held it with far more consideration than a football ought to be held. "That is the only way I can explain it. I do not fit in her future."

"What about what Sookie wants?" Jason whispered.

"What Sookie wants is inconsequential," Eric sighed as he flung the ball at Jason's chest, and the boy caught it reflexively this time.

Glowering at his friend, Jason squared off his shoulders, "Maybe you shouldn't be comin' 'round so much then. How's she s'pose to move past you when you're around all the time?"

"It cannot be helped," Eric shrugged.

"Well, you better help it out then," Jason seethed. "You think it's fair to say she can't have you, but then lurk around so nobody else can have her?"

"In a few more years, she will have more men throwing themselves at her than you can imagine, Jason," Eric tried to assuage the older brother's fears. "She will not be alone."

"I think you should go home," Jason picked up his tipped soda can and stormed into the house.

Sighing at the brother's abrupt departure, Eric could not help the smile that tugged at his lips. It was always nice to see Jason Stackhouse being a protective older brother. In his mind, it was a sign of due diligence on his part. Sookie needed strong family connections, or so Jeanie had emphasized at the beginning of Eric's duties.

Rather than cause any further distress for the brother, Eric concealed himself in the trees lining the property to keep an eye on Sookie. It was at dinner that night when he heard Jason encouraging Sookie to go on a date with a boy who was a friend's younger brother that the vampire felt the weight of his situation fully. Eric did not want to accompany Sookie on her romantic encounters, and he knew she would not want him to be there either. However, telling Sookie that she _could not _date was as impossible as dating her himself.

Hearing Sookie agree to go on a date her brother insisted on made Eric bristle with annoyance. He knew the boy Jason was suggesting, and to say that the vampire was unimpressed was an understatement. A young man named Mark Davies was called from the bleachers. _Generic name for a generic person_, Eric thought petulantly.

After everyone had gone to bed, Eric snuck into Sookie's bedroom and stole her into the night, as usual, to work on her combat training. As they arrived at his home and Jeanie's bottle was placed in the corner, Eric continued to keep his silence. Surely, Sookie would have caught on to some of the conversations he had with Jason during her time at the dinner table. Now, he could only wonder what she would do about the information. _Or will she remain silent? _He wondered. Sookie had quite the poker face when it came to her emotions. Although she still had an endearing habit of smiling a bit too wide when she was uncomfortable. He had noticed it when her classmates had begun hitting puberty, and erotic thoughts had run rampant. Eric and Jeanie had many unexpected explanations to give to the curious girl, and the vampire had begrudgingly held back in his descriptions.

"So," Sookie finally broke the silence as she was sent sailing onto her backside against the training mats, "I have a date on Saturday."

"I heard," Eric nodded, waiting for her to rise back to her feet.

"With Mark Davies," Sookie continued staring at the floor, hesitating to stand back up.

"Yes," he acknowledged.

"I'd rather you didn't lurk around," Sookie mumbled.

"It cannot be helped," Eric managed an apologetic shrug and offered her a hand up from the mat. He wanted the conversation to end.

Sulking at the notion of having a chaperone, Sookie rose to her feet. She knew it was no use arguing; it would only annoy Eric. Being a nuisance was no way to change his mind about what he had said earlier to her brother, nor what he had said to her last night. _If I want him, I need to prove I don't need him, _Sookie told herself.

_For you, _Sookie thought as she squared off her shoulders for Eric's next attack, _I will always try my hardest._

**TBC**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: Kiss the Girl**

"Sookie," Jason bopped into the kitchen excitedly, "Mark's coming up the drive. You ready?"

"Yeah," the sister sighed, wiping her hands on her apron as Gran gave her a small kiss on the cheek.

"Could you be a little more excited?" Jason grumbled. Though he knew that Sookie pined for Eric, and had been surprised when she agreed to go on a date with his friend's younger brother, Jason could tell Sookie was doing this for everyone but herself.

"I am excited," Sookie assured as she put the apron on its hook and headed toward the door.

Her brother tailed Sookie all the way to the front door, and Jason grouched as she headed out to the front yard instead of making Mark come to the door for her. Her date seemed equally surprised as he anxiously hopped from behind the wheel to get to her door.

"Hi, Sookie," Mark grinned at her as he fumbled with the door handle. The young woman found herself smiling at his clumsiness. "Sorry, sorry," he yelped, finding the door was locked. He ran back around the car, unlocked it, and returned with a flushed, embarrassed expression.

"You don't need to be sorry. Thank you," Sookie slid into the seat her date offered and waited as Mark came back around to get behind the wheel. "So, what are we doing?" she asked.

"I thought we could get some lunch at D's BBQ," Mark replied as he pointed the car toward town.

"Okay," Sookie shrugged as they rattled down the road. She could feel Eric's silent mind in the distance trailing them. Soon the car became as quiet as Eric's presence, and the telepath found herself relaxing against the seat. With Eric's mind so close, it was easy to ignore Mark and whatever thoughts he had. She could only hope that Eric would not realize why she had wished to go unaccompanied.

As the pair arrived at the small restaurant that was nothing more than a shack with outdoor picnic tables, Sookie felt Eric's mind fall within the treeline behind the tiny building. When Mark hopped out of the car, he opened Sookie's door and held out his hand for her. Sookie accepted it uncomfortably and felt the onslaught of Mark's thoughts that she tried desperately to silence. The problem was, she realized, she was so unaccustomed to people other than Eric touching her for extended periods. Mostly, others gave her brief hugs that were easy to steel herself against. Mark, however, was not letting go of her hand, parading the fact that he was holding it to all the other teens that were hanging around the food shack on a beautiful Saturday afternoon.

Even with Mark's calculating thoughts ravaging her mind, Sookie did not miss the beginning of the gossip their classmates were considering. Nearly everyone present was surprised to see Sookie with a man other than Eric. No one seemed able to understand what was happening. She heard Maudette Pickens wondering if this meant she could possibly land the elusive Northman, and Sookie felt herself bristle at the thought.

_It's for the best,_ Sookie thought forlornly. Trying to convince Eric that being with him was her _choice_ and not some sort of psychological response to always being around him would be no easy feat. While Eric mulled that over, Sookie could help Mark Davies and maybe get some perspective of her own. Of all the boys in Bon Temps, he was the only one that would appreciate what she had to offer. She could only hope that Eric would not put two and two together when he watched them interact with each other.

Eric prowled the treeline like they were the bars to some cage. _Let go of her fucking hand, you ingrate,_ he snarled in his head when he observed Davies helping Sookie from her seat and never letting go. He could see the tension in Sookie's shoulders as she battled with the teen's thoughts. Despite her obvious discomfort, Sookie smiled and remained charming as ever.

Watching as Sookie's peers gawked and whispered, Eric found himself becoming more and more frustrated. He could hear someone whisper, _"What about Eric?" _He watched annoyedly as Maudette Pickens brightened hopefully. Throughout the entire date, all the vampire could do was seethe quietly in the shadows. It was only when the pair rose to leave that Eric realized he had not been keeping the best surveillance. Many of their classmates had come and gone, and it was the passage of time that made Eric see that Sookie had finished her meal long ago. _He's fucking flaunting her,_ Eric understood angrily. Whether Davies was doing this to show off that he could date Sookie when Eric could not, or to flash around what a catch the young woman was, Eric was unsure. Regardless, Eric hated every moment of it.

At one point, Eric frowned, when Sookie wrote Mark a note and slipped it to him. Whatever the statement said, the man's face reddened deeply. When he nodded slowly, Sookie gave him a shy, apologetic smile, took the note back, and quickly burned it before stubbing the ash out on the ground. Eric gritted his teeth as she used the very tactic he had taught her with the purpose of keeping whatever she had to say from the vampire's knowledge.

Several hours later, Eric's torturous excursion ended, and he followed the couple back to the farmhouse. As he dropped into the woods near Sookie's house, Eric was pleasantly surprised when Mark merely gave Sookie a hug goodnight after walking her to the door. Now it was his turn to have Sookie all to himself once again, and the only thing he could think of was combat training. Anything so that he could press his body to hers and eliminate Mark Davies' scent with his own.

{†}

"GOOD!" Eric roared excitedly as Sookie shot her arm out like a cobra and delivered a firm blow to his throat. The attack did not faze him at all, but the miracle of her landing a strike was well worth his praise. Over the past few months, Sookie's intensity had grown, and he finally witnessed the young woman before him fighting like she meant it.

Despite his marvel at the change, the vampire wondered about the origin from which it stemmed. Ever since she began dating the annoyingly dull Mark Davies, Sookie had seemed far more focused on her training. Not only had she devoted herself mentally to combat practice, but her concentration on school, both supernatural and human, had heightened as well.

_I suppose this is what growing up looks like,_ Eric realized with a modicum of regret. To see the carefree and jubilant child transforming into the severe and focused teen right in front of him was strangely saddening. Watching Sookie out on dates with Mark Davies, evading her ceaseless attacks on himself, and losing the sound of her cheery voice as she tried to distract him from her lessons was…

_It is what? _Eric wondered. _What is this feeling?_

It was new and unwelcome. It felt like jealousy but hurt far more than that emotion ever had. If a word could be said for the sensation, the only one that came to mind was 'loss.' _I feel like I am losing her, _Eric discerned.

Without realizing it, Eric had become lost in thought, and Sookie managed to land another blow upon his jaw. Forgetting to lean away from the hit, and instead of remaining perfectly still, Eric heard the distinct sound of a bone snapping. Sookie's cry of pain erupted in his ears, and Eric watched as the girl clutched her broken hand.

_Shit, _Eric realized his error and gently took Sookie's hand into his own, scrutinizing it. "I am sorry," the vampire whispered. Her big, blue eyes looked up at him, her body much closer to his than it needed to be. "You should have Jeanie fix that."

As her eyes cast downward, Sookie carefully took her hand back and called for the Djinn to repair the injury. It only took a brief moment before the young woman was experimentally fisting and stretching her fingers.

"That is all for tonight," Eric adjourned their training for the evening.

"It's barely even eleven," Sookie protested.

"I said we are done," Eric whispered as he began walking toward the door.

Sulking, Sookie followed behind her vampire and allowed him to scoop her into his arms when they arrived back at her house. As they flew back into her bedroom, the young woman held Eric's forearm. "Can you stay for a moment?"

"No," Eric sighed. "Go to sleep."

With that, Sookie watched as Eric jumped out her window and went to stand out by the woods as he usually did. As she stared out the window at her sentry, Sookie barely took the time to set Jeanie's bottle on her bedside table.

Sookie stared at her guard forlornly from her spot at the window. The past six months had been brutal emotionally. She had been lying to everyone, and that knowledge did not sit well with her. With her departure from Bon Temps ebbing nearer and nearer as graduation approached, the young woman hated that she was wasting her waning time with Eric in a farce. She hated the ticking clock that taunted her daily with the counting down of her future loneliness.

"If I said I don't want to be the queen anymore," Sookie found herself speaking more to herself than the other occupant of the room, "would you take away Eric's sunstone?"

"_Only if you ordered me to,"_ Jeanie replied.

"I don't want that," Sookie shook her head before raising it from the sill. "Jeanie," she mumbled, "I don't want to do this without him."

"_Some things must be done on your own,"_ Jeanie reminded.

"I can stand on my own two feet," Sookie protested. "I just don't want to always be standing on them alone."

"_You won't be alone,"_ Jeanie assured.

"Who will I have?" Sookie found her body leaning toward the bottle and yanked the stopper away to face her friend directly. Sookie was unsurprised when Jeanie backed away and refused to comfort the young woman when she erupted from her vessel. "I won't have my family, or you, or Eric. I'll have to leave Gran- my whole world. Eric refuses to stay after I take my crown, and you… You make me feel like I'll be losing you around that same time."

As per usual, Jeanie retreated to her bottle, and Sookie sat in her bed, alone. Silent tears dripped down her cheeks as she stared out her window at the familiar silhouette by the forest. Despite the darkness, Sookie could always see Eric. Even in the shadows, the gentle glow of his otherness guided her eyes to that beacon of silence.

Sookie was not sure when her loneliness began. Her childhood had felt so bright and exciting with Eric. Her education of the supernatural had been mystifying, and the notion of being a fairy princess was every little girl's dream come true. As she grew, however, reality _became_ supernatural. She lost any semblance of choice or goals of her own. She realized that when she concluded that her companionship with Eric left so much to be desired. Her body yearned to hold his intimately in every possible expression of the word.

Without Eric in her life, Sookie felt an emptiness grow inside her. Her motivations became stinted in considering his absence.

Crawling out of bed to put on her nightgown, Sookie found herself pausing in front of the window. Eric was looking at the house.

A pang of frustration shot through Sookie's gut as she snatched her nightdress from the bed and yanked it over her head. Removing her shirt and shorts beneath the gown, Sookie eventually crossed her arms angrily over her chest as she stared out the window. The lie needed to end.

"Jeanie," Sookie summoned her Djinn, who barely had time to appear from the bottle before she barked, "make me feather fall."

Before the Djinn could fully react, Sookie flung her window open and leaped into the night sky. For a brief moment, Sookie felt the full force of gravity sending her toward the earth, but Jeanie managed to encapsulate her with power and allow the young woman to gently touch down.

Eric was already running at her, and Sookie managed two whole steps before he was glaring down bewilderedly into her eyes.

"What happened?" the vampire demanded.

"As the future ruler of Elfyria," Sookie whispered, "I don't give a _damn _what my subjects have to say about my choice in consort, and I never have."

"Sookie-" Eric tried to interrupt.

"I want you, Eric," Sookie continued unwavering. "I understand that I have to leave my family to start a whole new life. That's fine. That's the way it should be. But I shouldn't have to give up you if the only reason you're keeping me at an arm's length is politics."

"It is not only the politics," Eric sighed as he found his hand reaching to smooth her golden hair.

"If you can't feel the same way about me, then I'll understand," Sookie felt her shoulders tighten in preparation for rejection. "If it's _me _and not the crown that's keeping you from loving me, just tell me. But I _will _fight. I'll fight harder than you ever knew I could. I'll be the strongest queen you've ever heard of if that's what it takes." Her hands took his own insistently. "So, if you're putting up the fence between us because you think I can't keep growing with you too close, then you're wrong. Give me a shot at what I _really _want, and you'll never see someone work harder than me."

"Do you promise?" Eric asked quietly. When she looked up, startled, he continued. "Do you promise not to hate me if I keep you? If I am to be the only man you will ever truly know?"

"I will be the happiest woman and Fairy Queen in the history of Earth or Elfyria if you are the one I get to spend my reign with," Sookie assured.

A smile spread across Eric's lips at her declaration, but when he tried to lean in and claim her own lips, Sookie's hand was there, covering his mouth.

"I have to break up with Mark first," she told him regretfully.

"He does not have to know," Eric pointed out. "It is not as if I am some teenage boy who would mock him."

"I would know," Sookie told him. "It feels enough of a betrayal confessing to you like this when I'm still in a relationship."

"You are loyal to a fault sometimes," Eric chuckled as he pulled Sookie tightly into his arms.

"You wouldn't love me any other way, would you?" Sookie laughed, happily nuzzling against his chest and breathing in his scent unabashedly. She had longed to breathe him in like this without shame.

"You trust those you are loyal to with far too much," Eric tried to explain.

"I'll trust you with a lot more after tomorrow," Sookie giggled and blushed excitedly.

Eric paused at her statement. Hesitantly, he hedged a topic he had always been uncertain about bringing up with her. "You realize that our relationship should remain chaste until you make a play for your crown, yes?"

Sookie's brow furrowed, "Why?"

"Even if it is your destiny to save Elfyria, you will still need supporters. Knowledge of a romantic attachment to a vampire could hurt your cause in the beginning. An alliance with me would not be all that unacceptable, but the fae look at vampires much the same way vampires look at Weres and Weres look at shifters," Eric explained. "For now, our intentions should remain quiet."

Sookie frowned before questioning, "By chaste, you mean?"

Eric grinned, "That you will not be deflowered on Prom night. After you finish school, we can begin our quest to open the Gates of Elfyria. Once you have an alliance, then we can explore a physical relationship."

Considering his words carefully, Sookie offered a slow nod, "But you'll still kiss me?"

"My general scent being on you is more than reasonable," Eric chuckled. "However, a sexual relationship with a vampire could severely hinder your efforts to gain supporters. And before you ask, _yes_, they will know if you and I are physically intimate."

"I'm okay with a physically subdued relationship for now," Sookie smiled reassuringly. "All I care about is not losing you. With how much I'll have to let go of, I couldn't stand if you were one of them."

"That has been weighing on my own heart as well," Eric confessed. "Seeing you out with Davies these past months has been beyond irritating." A smile returned to his face as he admitted, "It was always a relief to me when you would give him your cheek when he moved to take your lips."

"First of all," Sookie wagged her finger at him, "I wasn't about to go kissing someone in front of others, and we are always in public together. Secondly, Mark never expected to kiss my lips, he always knew I'd turn my head."

"I have to commend him, then," Eric frowned at her statement, "I do not know of many teenage boys in this age that would have continued dating a girl for so long with so little to show."

Sookie rolled her eyes, "Not everyone has that on their mind, you know."

"Teenage boys do," Eric laughed.

The urge to kiss Sookie became nearly unbearable at that moment, but Eric had never been one to lose to his yearnings. He could happily wait for her. Centuries of memorizing her lips would be well worth the twelve hours he would have to wait for Sookie to properly break-up with her current boyfriend.

"You should go back to bed," Eric pointed out with a smile as he took Sookie into his arms and began their flight to her bedroom window. When Sookie was tucked back into her bed, Eric sat at the edge of the mattress, playing idly with her fingertips. "I hope that when you find yourself defending our relationship, I do not bring you any regrets."

"The only regret I could have is not taking a chance," Sookie assured him, smilingly. Her hand took his in a firm squeeze, and she turned onto her side so she could fall asleep comfortably, holding his palm in her own grasp.

{†}

Sookie felt a knot in her throat that was making it too painful for her to swallow. Thankfully, her mouth was dry as she approached Mark in the hallway before first period. His curly brown hair was bobbing with his laughter, and Sookie found herself wringing her hands. Despite knowing that an end to their relationship was inevitable, Sookie still felt concerned about how he would react to hearing that she was dumping him.

"Ma-ark?" Sookie choked, bringing her boyfriend's attention away from his friends.

"Hey, Sookie," Mark smiled down at her, leaving his circle of friends to speak with her.

"I want to break up," Sookie blurted out, making the teen blink at her in surprise.

"Oh… I thought…," Mark cleared his throat.

"Things between Eric and me have changed," Sookie whispered.

Mark sighed in exasperation. "Well, thanks for giving me six months."

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"

"Aw, shut up," Mark laughed as he brushed back his curls self-consciously. "You shouldn't be stuck with me when you've wanted to be with him for so freakin' long, right?"

"So, you're not mad or-"

"I'm annoyed, but I'm not mad," Mark confessed. "Honestly, the time we spent together was a lot of fun, and I'm really grateful I had someone like you in my life who just _got me_. You really made things better for me. Really."

"Thanks, Mark," Sookie smiled timidly. "You'll make someone really happy, I just know it."

With that, Sookie retreated from the conversation, heading toward Eric, who had stayed at the juncture of the hall. The vampire offered a consolatory nod, having respect for the boy's calm temper under the circumstances. It had to be damaging for his ego to find that he was being left for another man.

As Sookie took stride with Eric, he felt her warm hand slip into his grasp. He was unsure if she was trying to retreat into his silent mind, or if she was actually seeking the touch itself. Whatever the reason, Eric was happy to have her contact.

By the beginning of second period, the school was already abuzz with the gossip about the Sookie, Mark, and Eric triangle. Eric could only imagine the unfiltered stories his Sookie was hearing, but the general consensus was that Mark had dumped Sookie for cheating on him with Eric.

When lunch rolled around, Sookie steered Eric outside to eat rather than remaining in the cafeteria.

"How bad is it?" Eric asked as she ferociously bit into her pear.

Sookie shrugged, "It's fine. I just need a break."

"Sookie?" Eric pressed in a chastising tone.

The young woman rolled her eyes, "Honestly, it's just a bunch of trash. I would rather have my lunch in peace."

Eric paused his inquiries a moment before a smile tugged at his lips, "If I were to promise not to use this predicament as ammunition about what is to come, would you speak to me?" Hesitantly, Sookie nodded. "I promise."

"Everyone's gossiping that I cheated on Mark with you," Sookie blurted. "Knowing that everyone thinks so little of my character hurts."

Placing a comforting arm over Sookie's shoulders, Eric tugged her against his chest. "You have a terrific character. You are strong, as well as considerate of others. Even with my assurances not to tell anyone, you still refused to let me kiss you before you were formally broken up with Davies. You are a woman of your word and strong convictions, and you should never allow people's gossipto bring you doubt."

"That doesn't make me feel better," Sookie admitted with a sheepish smile. "I feel silly letting it get to me, though."

"They are your peers, and to have your peers doubt your integrity is not easy to ignore," Eric told her as he twisted a lock of her hair around his fingertip. He remained silent after that, watching Sookie eat her lunch and absorb his words. Her thoughtful silence was one of the things that had made him fall in love with her. Despite all the things she heard through the days, and all the things she saw, Sookie remained self-contained. Sometimes she would become more than pensive at the thoughts she was privy to, mostly when they confused or angered her, but generally, Sookie took things in stride. Eric did not find her current concerns any indication of immaturity.

On the contrary, he found her response admirable. Sookie showed an acknowledgment of other's worries but did not flounder trying to justify herself. She was taking the silent, unrepentant high road. As much as it seemed to frustrate her, she stuck to her efforts.

Once lunch was over, Eric and Sookie finished their school day in companionable silence. Sookie did not mention their relationship at all, and Eric maintained his disinterested façade. To the students of Bon Temps high school that heard the rumor of the changed relationship, many were surprised to see no visible evidence in that status. For all they knew, the stories that had burned like a brushfire through campus were a mere excuse made by Mark Davies to slander Sookie for dumping him.

It was not until the couple was heading to the bus that Maudette Pickens approached, seeking answers.

"Stackhouse," Maudette called, making Sookie turn in surprise. "Are you two really dating?" she demanded pointing between vampire and telepath.

With a smile, Eric took Sookie's hand in his. "We are," he proclaimed.

Maudette frowned at the confirmation, "After all this time, why now? You've been ignoring all of us except her forever, and then _all of a sudden, _you change your mind after she starts going steady with someone else?"

"I'm the one who went after him," Sookie interjected, frustrated that others were accusing her guard of luring her away from Mark. "Mark didn't dump me because I cheated, and Eric didn't chase after me because I was seeing someone else. I was dating Mark, we broke up, and now I'm dating Eric. It's that simple."

Squaring her shoulders, Maudette placed her hands on her hips as she hissed accusingly, "I guess the 'Stackhouse Whore Gene' is running its course. Just so you know, it just makes you look like a slut."

Barely bothering to blink at the insult, Sookie squeezed Eric's hand reassuringly. "I'm sorry we didn't get to know each other better if that's how you really feel about me. If your curiosity's sated, we're leaving now."

As Maudette began to open her mouth to let another vapid comment fly, Sookie's eyes sought out the mind she heard coming to intervene. As they widened in an attempt to dissuade Mark's interference, it was too late.

"Maudette," Mark snapped, making the crowd around the couple grow with anticipation of a romantic triangle, "I'm gay. Sookie knew and was helping me keep it under wraps until graduation."

Eric looked at Sookie in surprise. He thought he would notice something like that, but with Sookie obscuring his perception, he had missed the more obvious details.

"What?" Maudette gawked in surprise.

"I'm gay," Mark restated. "I didn't want to put up with the same shit Tara's cousin did, and Sookie knew people were starting to ask why I never dated. When I asked her out, she accepted because she wanted to help me."

Sookie heard the anger and disgust of the crowd and began to ease away from Eric's side. Discretely, she placed herself between Mark and the potential mob. She swooned, seeing Eric do the same thing.

"Fucking fag lovers," someone in the group snarled when they realized that Sookie and Eric had moved to protect Mark.

"Listen to me," Eric rumbled, and Sookie could feel his glamour taking over the crowd to help along the persuasion. "In less than two months, all three of us will be gone from this shit hole. Ignore us until then. There is no need to run us out of town. We all plan on leaving after graduation."

"You two are leaving?" Tara asked in surprise even as the crowd's animosity waned slightly.

"Yes," Eric nodded. "Sookie and I will be leaving together after graduation. Mark, I am guessing, plans to do so too." The young man nodded in agreement unaware of the small influence Eric had performed. "You do not have to convince us of anything."

Sookie listened intently to the minds around her. Although a lot of those surrounding them wished to beat Mark upon principle, Eric's glamour had drawn a line in the sand. Though it was still possible unglamoured students could come after Mark, Sookie had hope that he would remain safe for the next couple months.

Silently, the trio moved toward their bus and sat in the very back. Tara moped the entire way, realizing her best friend would be leaving soon. Eric, on the other hand, was marveling at Sookie's considerations. He understood now why she had asked him not to chaperone. He knew why she had written a note that she immediately burned. It was all to protect what she had learned through her telepathy, and she would never betray another's privacy. Sookie would choose to have her own name slandered rather than expose someone else's secret.

Upon arriving home, Sookie was surprised to discover that Gran had already heard about the confessions that took place at school. Not only was she impressed that word had spread so far and wide in the course of a bus ride, but also that her grandmother seemed concerned by the situation.

"You two are taking off together after graduation?" Adele asked of the pair the moment they set down their bookbags.

"Yes," Sookie whispered. Graduation had always been her planned exit from Bon Temps. Jeanie had insisted she would need to help Elfyria immediately. Originally they had planned for the guise to consist of heading off to college. Now, Gran seemed ready to give them an alternate excuse.

"Are you eloping?" Adele asked hoarsely. When neither of them replied, Adele softened her tone. "Sookie, dear, are you two in the family way?"

"No!" Sookie squeaked. "We're not eloping, and I'm not pregnant! We haven't even kissed yet, Gran, I swear!"

"I just don't understand what's going on between you two," Gran shook her head confusedly. "You've always insisted that you were just friends. Even when everyone around you knew better, you kept on refusing it. Why now? What happened?"

Sookie relaxed and smiled, "Eric couldn't take seeing me with Mark anymore. I think that jolt of jealousy just knocked some sense into him." The vampire beside her glared down at Sookie in amused annoyance.

"I am sorry for the things I have put you through, and the things I will put you through," Eric told the grandmother. "When I came to Bon Temps, I never thought about how my leaving would change things for everyone else. I always planned to leave after graduating, and I did not want to take Sookie from you."

"And now that's changed?" Adele asked.

"Yes," Eric replied. "I cannot lie to myself or her any longer. It is that simple."

Adele sighed at Eric's confession. "If this is what both of you want, then I'm happy for you," she assured with a strained laugh. "We all knew how the two of you felt. I'm happy you two have finally grown up enough to communicate properly, and became brave enough for honesty."

"I never expected to fall in love," Eric laughed as he took Sookie's hand and gave it a squeeze. "I never expected to feel like I found a family while I was here either, but somehow you managed to be a grandmother to me. I did not think that was possible."

Laughing at the young man's admittance, Adele shook her head, "You were a tough nut to crack. You were always such a formal little boy. It was like talking to an old man in a child's body. That smart mouth of yours had me ready to rip out my hair from time to time." Sookie giggled at her Gran's statement.

Eric grinned as well, "I am glad I have not ruined our relationship over this."

Adele chuckled again, "It takes a lot more than this to break up a family. Distance and time only hold so much power. The memories and love will always have the advantage."

Seeing that her grandmother was feeling lost despite her kind assurances, Sookie released Eric's hand and embraced Adele tightly. Returning her granddaughter's hug, the older woman let out a long, slow breath. The phone call her Gran received from the school was playing through Adele's head, and Sookie rolled her eyes. Apparently, Mrs. Maladri had called Sookie's grandmother immediately after hearing Eric's sidewalk declaration. The teacher had told Adele that there was a good chance Sookie was 'in trouble' and that she and Eric were going to elope.

Unable to fathom the beehive communication that was Bon Temp, Sookie merely shook her head. "I guess we should get to work on our homework, then-" Sookie began to excuse themselves.

"Uh," Adele began uncomfortably, "I would prefer if you two did your homework here from now on."

Sookie frowned, "Why is that?"

Squaring her shoulders sternly, Adele pointed out, "You only have a little less than two months before graduation. We don't need people going on with rumors about the two of you."

"That's ridiculous!" Sookie protested angrily. "What was different before?"

"You're dating now," Adele explained.

"We've never even kissed! Now people are thinkin' I'm gonna jump into bed with him the second we're alone?" the granddaughter demanded.

"That is _not_ the point I am making," Adele continued firmly. "I am saying that there is no reason to throw fuel on the fire. Six weeks is not that long."

"I take it," Eric interrupted dispassionately, "that no one in this house would have any objection if Sookie and I studied in her room?"

Adele sighed, narrowing her eyes at Eric. She should have known he would find a work-around. "That is true."

"Then there is nothing to be concerned about," Eric continued smoothly. "We will just shut the door, and it will be no different than studying at my house." When Adele's jaw moved to object, Eric added, "Because we are obviously grown-up enough to do so, and we are in a home free of judgment."

As Adele's mouth clamped shut once more, Eric smiled and picked up Sookie's bookbag. Steering his girlfriend toward the stairs, Eric soon had them in her room with the door shut.

"Can you believe that!?" Sookie demanded as Eric set their things on the floor. He watched as she paced about the small room. It was a rare occasion when he witnessed Sookie's age at the surface. The angsty pacing was amusing to the vampire. Her inflated rage was giving her face an adorable flushed appearance as well.

"This is a very religious town," Eric reminded. "Gran has never been shy about saying things how they are."

"I mean, I get her stance, but still!" Sookie flopped onto her bed and mumbled into her pillow, grouchily.

"There is no point wasting the time you have left here being angry or frustrated," Eric told her gently as he sat next to her on the bed.

"I'm never coming back, am I?" Sookie whispered to Eric. It was something she always suspected, but it felt like Jeanie and Eric neglected to blatantly state what felt so obvious now.

"With an hour in Elfyria being a day in the human realm," Eric began slowly reclining to lay alongside her, "it is doubtful that you would be able to visit much. We may be able to sneak away from time to time. With the sunstone, I'd be able to continue protecting you, ironside."

Sookie leaned her head against Eric's chest. "Of all the things, I hate this part the most. We have _time_ to make our relationship work, but my family doesn't… Can't I just wait? Can't I wait a few more years to open the gates?"

"I do not think so, Sookie," Eric answered regretfully. Vampirism was so much easier. There was a minimal choice involved, and once it was done, you either accepted it, or you got yourself ended. The world was not placed on shoulders, nor was much expected from you. Without care for protection or luxury, there was nothing to bind a vampire to a kingdom or queendom. The only individual owed true fealty was the Maker line, and no one else.

Shutting her eyes as Eric's hand reached for her face, Sookie took comfort in the cold touch of his fingers as they brushed her cheekbone and traveled into her hairline. Subconsciously, she felt her head tilt, pressing more firmly against his caress. As his palm opened, cradling her face, Sookie felt the slightest of pressure as she was drawn forward. Her heart pounded, but her eyes remained closed even as she felt the softness of his lips touch her mouth. Gentle at first, Eric seemed to pause at the initial contact, but the pressure quickly grew more forceful, his hand abandoning her hair to wrap about her shoulders and pull her closer.

Sookie's heart was thudding painfully against her ribs, and despite the coolness of Eric's lips, she could feel them burning with the rush of blood his closeness brought. All too soon, his lips were gone, and Sookie's eyes finally opened to see a satisfied grin on his face.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Sookie mumbled self-consciously.

"Because you are beautiful, and I love you," Eric replied earnestly, making Sookie huff on a laugh. "You do not believe me?"

"It's not that," Sookie assured. "I've just waited so long to hear it. My body didn't know how to respond."

"You could always say it back," Eric suggested amusedly.

"I love you so much," Sookie sighed as she leaned in for another kiss.

**TBC**


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Sorry about the poor editing on this chapter, everyone. My software was down. Also, please read the note at the end of the chapter! Enjoy!_

_-Andi_

**Chapter Six: Glass Coffin**

Graduation came and went far quicker than Sookie would have liked, and to make matters worse, Jason and Hadley had returned from New Orleans to see her off. Before Sookie began to prepare for her departure, she was already standing on the driveway with a suitcase of mementos and little else. She weakly handed the luggage to Eric to place in his car so that she could hug her family goodbye.

"Write lots and lots," Gran pleaded as she gripped Sookie tightly in a strong embrace that belied her aging body.

"I promise," Sookie uttered as she squeezed her eyes shut to keep her tear ducts from leaking.

"If you need me, I'm just a phone call away," Jason encouraged as he pulled Sookie into his own hug. "No matter where you are, or what you're doing, I'll be there quick as a flash," he promised.

"Thanks, Jason," Sookie pressed her cheek to his chest and held on a bit longer. The numerous fishing trips they had taken over the years seemed to blur into one short excursion. All the shows they watched and music they listened to were a single memory, and Sookie felt cheated by that realization. She had tried so hard to make her years with her family memorable ones, but she could not think of one individual memory that stuck out in her mind. It was all a collage of smiles and tears.

"Aw, don't cry," Jason sniffled as he hugged Sookie tighter. Her shoulders shook with the effort of holding back sobs. "Please, don't cry. I never know what to do." She felt a warm drop on her crown that quickly cooled. "We'll see each other again soon." His voice was raspy and hurt.

"I'm sorry," Sookie choked out. "It just feels too much like goodbye."

"Hey now," Hadley interjected. "You always got us here," she tapped Sookie's head before placing her hand just below her collar bone, "and right here. Now you go out in that world and show them what you're made of just like me and Jason."

"Okay, Hatty," Sookie gave her cousin a tight hug. "I love you guys, so, so much."

"We love you too, Dear. Don't be a stranger," Adele called as Sookie broke away, attempting to make a fast getaway before her resolve failed her.

Eric quickly shut the door behind Sookie before making his own quick goodbyes. When the Stackhouses pulled him in for big hugs, the vampire felt his own dismay at leaving them behind. He wished it were in his power to keep them part of the next leg of their journey, but the reality was never that kind.

"Are you crying?" Sookie asked when Eric sat behind the driver's seat.

"No," Eric answered too quickly. She could see that his eyes were bloodshot, and that could only happen if he had blinked back a small tear. "Shut up," he snapped before Sookie could call him out.

The young woman smiled at his defensiveness and whispered, "I love you."

Eric looked at her in surprise as he turned the ignition, "Why are you saying that all of the sudden?"

Sookie shrugged, unapologetically as they bounced down the driveway. "After all your stories and all the losses you've gone through, I love you for being able to still get that attached."

Sighing in defeat, Eric admitted, "Honestly, I thought myself incapable of such a thing any longer. I am sure Godric is regularly surprised by the emotions he has felt coming from me over the last decade." It was true that Bon Temps had grown on him and in him over the years. Somehow, despite how small and isolated the town was, existing there had changed something in Eric. Perhaps it was the sunlight, or maybe it was being surrounded by the Stackhouses throughout the majority of the last few years. Whatever the cause, Eric was certain a part of him had been transformed by the experience.

"It doesn't seem all that long, does it?" Sookie realized. When Eric looked at her with raised eyebrows, Sookie laughed, "I guess it really doesn't from your perspective, but ten years is over half my life. It should feel longer or more significant. Instead, I just feel like you showed up, and the world became a blur." As if to mark her statement, Sookie realized they were already at the edge of the small town and found herself holding her breath.

"I am glad we had the foresight to fake my 'mother's' death before we departed," Eric commented thoughtfully as the 'Now Leaving Bon Temps' sign flashed by their car. "Otherwise, people would have started ghost stories about the recluse woman of Bon Temps."

"I was surprised how many people showed up for the wake," Sookie replied slowly, realizing that no one in town every really focused on the recluse character Eric had created to explain his caretaker. Everyone had concentrated their energy on being there for the young boy they thought needed grown-ups in his parents' absence.

"Considering what a shithole I always thought Bon Temps to be," Eric continued thoughtfully, "I have to admit that the amount of townies that tried to watch out for me was surprising, though unnecessary."

Sookie smiled gently. True, most of the adults that had fussed over Eric had mostly wanted to gossip about his mother and her upbringing. Despite that, there had been genuine concern felt for the seemingly neglected boy. Those who attended Jeanie's fake burial had done so out of morbid curiosity of gazing upon the woman no one had ever really met.

"Do you know where we're going?" Sookie asked curiously as they arrived on the highway and began heading West.

"Jeanie said we needed a secluded place," Eric shrugged. "Something defendable and isolated because the next step is supposedly going to draw a lot of energy. According to the last census I was privy to, our best choice will be Iowa to avoid a vampire onslaught. With any luck, it will be a low interest location for marooned fae as well. I am concerned about Were communities, however, since Iowa is a bit of a hotter spot for them."

Frowning, Sookie considered what this next step would be. Jeanie had been keeping her in the dark for years, and while the creature always obeyed orders, the telepath could not help but feel that her supernatural IKEA was being less than forthcoming about the extent of her limitations.

"But what _is_ the next step?" Sookie wondered aloud. "She's always been vague about all that. It makes me nervous," she confessed.

Eric frowned thoughtfully, "To be honest, her silence on the details has me on edge as well. It makes me wonder if she is trying to keep you from panicking over the tediousness."

Leaning her head against Eric's shoulder, Sookie admitted, "I think it makes me more anxious."

"Me too," Eric whispered. "If you are meant to use some great power at this time, I cannot help but worry over your safety. Jeanie made it seem as if your magic would have increased by now, but you are only mentally, physically and emotionally stronger; not magically," As they came to speed, Eric raised his hand from the gear shift and wrapped his arm over Sookie's shoulders. "Regardless, whatever it entails, I will not let anything harm you. You focus on whatever it is you must do, and do it right. I will protect you in the meantime."

Letting out a cathartic sigh, Sookie murmured, "Do you think that's why you were brought in to protect me so early? Even though there wasn't much of anything to protect me from all these years? Could it be so we would be close when the time came for the actual protecting to come into play?"

"It is possible," Eric considered, "but Endymion can only directly influence events by so many degrees. Eventually, his presence creates a paradox, and to have any universe built upon a paradox is a great risk. It can cause not only the collapse of that world, but other associated realms as well."

"So, how long has he been playing this card?" Sookie wondered. "Jeanie's bottle has been in our cupboard for _years_. Since I was about six, it's been sitting on that shelf, and I think it was somewhere in or around the house well before that because I've heard her 'voice' as far back as I can remember."

Considering the information he was given, Eric pondered, "Endymion must arrive in this realm through Elfyria. I know for a fact that the gateway has been magically sealed for nearly twenty years. Quite possibly, that bottle has been in Gran's possession since before you were born, or right around that time."

The conversation pittered away after that observation, and Sookie sat silently as the roadside zipped past them. She knew vaguely where they were headed, and that it would take the entire day to arrive at whatever fortress Eric had in mind for the next step in her mission. Despite all of this, Sookie was still uncertain about her fate. Nothing Eric could say at this point would alleviate her growing trepidation, and she thought it best to keep it to herself. In a way, Sookie wondered if Eric would not only allow, but assist her in abandoning her promise.

Eventually, Sookie dozed off, hypnotized by the changing scenery, and perhaps exhausted from her mind searching for answers to questions she was unsure how to ask. When her eyes opened again, her bladder was screaming in protest and the sky was pitch black.

"How long was I out?" Sookie murmured with a yawn and uncomfortable stretch.

"Eight hours," Eric smiled at her. "Do you need a restroom break?"

"Desperately," Sookie confessed.

Chuckling, Eric drifted into the empty right lane and eventually exited the highway when signs for a gas station appeared. As Sookie used the facility, Eric topped off the gas tank, glamoured a nip of blood from another refueling motorist, and waited for her to return.

"How much further is it?" Sookie asked as she emerged from the convenience store with a bottle of water and a hot dog.

"About another two hours," Eric told her as he opened her door for her. He could hear her heart slam against her ribs at his reply, and the vampire could not help but feel regret that she would soon be facing the unknown. "Are you alright?" he asked gently as he came to sit in the driver's seat.

"Not really," Sookie murmured, looking at her hot dog as if it had the answers she sought.

"We could always chuck the bottle in the ocean," Eric whispered. "We could Bond and forget all of this."

Sookie felt the aching in her heart recede, "No. As long as you stay by my side, I don't need anything else."

The vampire leaned forward to place a comforting kiss against Sookie's forehead. "I hate how scared this situation is making you feel."

Sookie smiled sheepishly, "It's the unknown," she finally admitted. "Something _you_ don't even know the answers to is scarier than anything else. Knowing that you'll face it with me, though. Knowing that you'd stay with me if I chose to run away… It's not so scary now. I feel like I have a choice, and no matter what I choose, you'll be there."

Taking Sookie's hand into his, Eric squeezed it gently and assured, "I will never leave you."

Smiling at his declaration, Sookie nodded, "Let's keep moving forward."

{†}

Sookie followed Eric toward the decrepit shack in the middle of the woods. Shutters hung askew from the windows, formerly white paint flecked and exposed gray rotting boards, and every bit of glass was broken.

"This is it?" Sookie asked wondrously.

Eric nodded silently as he took Sookie's hand and lead her into the dilapidated building. As the vampire pushed the door open, Sookie was surprised when the floorboards did not creak under his weight. She was impressed when she did not feel the wood sag beneath her. Taking in this peculiar turn of events, Sookie discovered that the cause for her stability stemmed from the fact the shack was a decoy when Eric stooped down and opened a hidden passage beneath the floor. A slab of cement nearly four feet thick resided beneath the wooden floors, and a tunnel of gray stone was hollowed underneath them.

"A bunker?" Sookie asked in surprise as Eric took her into his arms. She was unsurprised when she discovered there was no ladder, and that Eric would have to fly them up or down. As they descended into the darkness, Eric reached up to latch the trapdoor above them before continuing down into the underground fortress.

The descent seemed to take much longer than Sookie expected. "How deep is this?" she whispered, feeling a chill when her voice echoed.

"One hundred feet," Eric replied, "No slopes, it is a dead drop, and after the first four feet, the walls open to an eight foot by eight foot hole. Those without flight would require repelling gear to meet the floor without death or at least catastrophic injury. There are teleportation wards all throughout the bunker. Anything that enters must do so through the drop… There is a spear pit at the bottom for good measure."

"What _is_ this place?" Sookie asked at his explanation.

"My fortress," Eric shrugged. "A place for the bloodline to retreat after illness or catastrophic injury until we are healed."

"Has it ever been used?" Sookie asked.

"No," Eric answered. "One like it has been utilized, and the new models came after discovering flaws with the original."

Sookie shuddered at the thought, "Who was hurt?"

"Me," Eric replied as his feet finally touched the ground and slowly walked through a narrow passageway.

"What happened?" Sookie asked in alarm as she felt the wall of the hallway brush her arm. She realized the cramped space was meant to keep anyone who survived the fall from filing through more than one at a time.

Eric shrugged, "Bad injury during a war. Godric stayed with me, kept me fed and protected me until I was capable of doing so again myself."

"I'm sorry you've had to stay away from him for so long," Sookie frowned sadly. "And Pam."

"We have all been apart longer than this," Eric reminded her. "It is not an issue. Besides, knowing that Pam is safe with Godric is enough for me."

As the walls opened up, the young woman heard Eric manipulating something nearby. She blinked furiously as Eric suddenly flipped on a light switch. Despite the dim incandescent, it was glaring after so much darkness.

"You have electricity?" Sookie asked in wonderment.

"A battery," Eric explained. "Which is why it took a moment to turn on. I had to add the batteries."

"Why not leave batteries in it?" Sookie wondered.

Eric raised his eyebrows at the question. "Corrosion. I do not come here often."

"There's no plumbing then, I take it?" Sookie asked forlornly.

"No," Eric grimaced apologetically. "I am afraid you will be using the woods for our duration here. There is a lake nearby to rinse off from time to time."

"_Eric_," Sookie moaned in dismay. "We have no idea how long we'll be here!"

The vampire grinned at her far less graciously than before. "Well _excuse me_, Princess."

Rolling her eyes, Sookie looked heavenward and sighed in resignation. If she had any luck, it would only be a few days.

"So, what do we do now?" Sookie asked after finally accepting her fate.

"I suppose it is time to ask Jeanie," Eric advised as he strolled around the cement prison. It was then that Sookie noticed the multitude of weapons mounted on the back wall. In the dim lighting, she realized that there could be any number of hidden objects in the darkness.

Opening her bag, Sookie took out the bottle her mythical friend resided in and unstoppered it. As usual, a black sludge poured from the mouth and eventually shaped itself into Jeanie's familiar figure. When the lively color reappeared on Jeanie's formerly lifeless complexion, Sookie smiled warmly.

"Hi, Jeanie," Sookie hugged the Djinn. "We're at the bunker now. What do we do next?"

The creature looked around their fortress and nodded, "Yes, I suppose this will do." Looking back at Sookie, Jeanie smiled and took the young woman's hands in its own. "Sookie, the stopper on my bottle is Empyrodite, a mineral used to open the gates of Elfyria. You will need to visit the graveyard by your home, and when you are close enough to the gateway, it will open."

Sookie's jaw slackened, "Why did we come all the way over here if the gate was at my house?"

"Because the gateway is sealed at the moment," Jeanie explained patiently. "You had to come here to unseal the magic closing the gateway. After that, you may return to Bon Temps, see your family and open the gate."

"How do I unseal the gate?" Sookie asked, happy to hear that she would see her family one last time.

"By killing me," Jeanie smiled. Sookie's eyes widened at the words, and the woman could see Eric's body tighten in her peripheral. "And it must be you, Sookie. Eric cannot do this for you."

"But," Sookie felt the blood draining from her face, "I can't do something like that!"

"You can, and you must," Jeanie assured. "My last order from Endymion was to seal off Elfyria the moment he departed. A Fae man then delivered my bottle to your Gran, and I've awaited this day ever since."

"But we're over a hundred kilometers from the gateway! Shouldn't that mean your magic is negated?" Sookie demanded. "I shouldn't have to kill you!"

"The _gateway_ to Elfyria is over a hundred kilometers away, but the magic of the realm is ever present. It is the fuel of magic to this world, and no matter where I was, I could tap into that realm. Upon my death, the seal will break, and you will have very little time to get to the gateway and complete your mission before this world is effected by Elfyria's corruption," Jeanie explained.

"How little time?" Sookie asked.

"When you wake once more, you will have only three days to restore Elfyria," Jeanie told her.

"When I wake?" Sookie demanded.

"Killing me will put you in repose," Jeanie continued. "It is a recoil from my magics being released and my consciousness ending."

"Jeanie," Sookie choked, realizing the distance the Djinn had cultivated the past years had been in an attempt to make this part easier for Sookie to take. However, Jeanie's attempts had failed. Sookie still loved her mythical friend.

"Please, Sookie," Jeanie urged sadly. "These past years have been the best of my long, long existence, but I am ready to go now. Existing is not _living_. Please, let my curse end. Let me die."

"Jeanie," she sobbed as she wiped at her flooding eyes. Even as she felt her throat tighten and her vision blur, Sookie still walked toward the wall of weapons. _Please, make it a quick, clean death_, she prayed to the blade as she took it from the mount. The heaviness was both physical and emotional as the metal swung toward the ground. "Will this finally make you free?" she asked of Jeanie as her hand gripped the heavy sword, hoping its weight and deadly, sharp blade would counteract her own hesitations.

"Yes, Sookie. This is how I am freed," Jeanie replied, hope brimming in her usually dead eyes.

Snorting back a wave of snot that threatened to drip from her nose, Sookie returned to her friend's side, "I guess it's my turn to grant you a wish."

"I'm sorry, Sookie," Jeanie fell to her knees before the future queen, "but thank you, so much." Bowing her head, Jeanie pulled her hair from her nape, clearing the way for her executioner.

"I love you," Sookie told her as she raised the blade over her head.

"I love you, too," Jeanie assured, smiling at the ground in relief.

As the blade swung down, Sookie hoped for divine intervention like God came to Abraham. She believed with her whole heart that an angel would stop the beheading at the last moment, but as the weight of the sword cleaved through the Djinn's neck, Sookie felt her breath catch in a hiccup.

Color drained from Jeanie's body until she was the dead body that usually came from her bottle. Inky black blood oozed from the decapitated stump of her throat, and the creature's head rolled several feet across the cement floor.

"No," Sookie uttered, shocked at the conclusion. "No, no, no," she dropped the sword, reaching to run her hands anxiously through her hair. "What did I do? What did I do? Eric-"

"Sookie," Eric took her by the wrists, turning her to look at him. "You did as you were told. Jeanie asked you to do this, and you did."

"But she's my friend," Sookie sobbed, pressing her forehead to Eric's sternum and letting her tears fall freely.

"It was an order," Eric released her wrists and held her to his chest. "You did as you were told. We knew this would not be an easy road."

Sniffling, Sookie glimpsed down at the floor, seeing the obsidian pool of Jeanie's blood creeping toward her. Pulling away from Eric, Sookie wiped again at her blurry eyes and turned to look at her first real act as Elfyria's future queen. As she gazed down at the decapitated body, the black pool touched Sookie's foot, and Sookie panicked as the fluid climbed up her leg.

"Eric-" Sookie screamed, but the sludge moved like lighting across her flesh. Before another word could pass her lips, Sookie was consumed in the darkness, and the slime ran into her mouth and down her throat, choking her.

The vampire stared in shock as Sookie was immediately encased in the Djinn's blood. He stood uncomprehending as Jeanie's body dissolved into more of the mysteriously fluid and swallowed Sookie further. When his shocked body finally reached out to touch her, he found that the substance had hardened, crystalized around Sookie's form like a sculpture.

"Sookie," Eric uttered before he was thrown to the ground by a wave of light that pulsed from Sookie's encased body. The room glowed brilliantly around Sookie's statue, and Eric felt the energy that radiated around him. He witnessed the Djinn's bottle vibrate and explode, causing the remnants of the container to cling around Sookie's form."By the Gods," he whispered as he felt the seductive draw of power.

_Break me,_ some dark voice in his head whispered. _Release me, and have me,_ it promised. It was the curse of the Djinn, he realized. A promise of power at the destruction of the vessel that contained it. There was no longer any barrier between himself and that desire.

_That is why the Djinn remained in its bottle whenever possible_, Eric realized as his body struggled with the urge to shatter Sookie's statue. Without the bottle, the draw was deeper and more insistent. _I have to protect Sookie,_ he told himself, fighting the covetous feeling within. _Min Sookie,_ his inner voice snarled against the seduction of power. Nothing he could gain by taking the Djinn's power would bring back Sookie if he broke her statue. If he lost this battle of wills, he would be the same forgotten creature Jeanie became. Even the ultimate power of the Djinn could not bring back the dead.

Picking up the sword that Sookie had dropped, Eric poised himself at the entrance of their hideaway. He would protect Sookie until she broke free from whatever journey she had taken.

Eric needed to protect her at last, and he was certain that failure was not an option.

**TBC**

**A/N: Hey, guys, real quick note. Sorry to say it, but I'm moving next week and might not have the internet set up before the next chapter is supposed to come out. That said, I'll post as soon as I'm up and running! With the area I'm moving to, I'm not positive how long it will take to get myself settled in, and I ask your patience. **

**With that said, I want to assure that I _WILL_ give you all the missed updates immediately upon my return. If I miss only next week, you will get two chapters the following. If, God Forbid, I miss two weeks, you will get three the week of my return. **

**Thanks in advance.**

**-Andi**


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